Resilience
by PacificRomance
Summary: Sequel to 'Being There.' The Bass family is forced to deal with something they never thought would come back to haunt them.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Hello to all my faithful "Being There" readers, and any new readers too! This story is a sequel, so if you haven't read "Being There," I guess technically you don't HAVE to, but I would highly recommend it.

Hope you enjoy!

…

Emily Vanderbilt descended the stairs, chatting away on her cell phone with her best friend and cousin, Anne Archibald. She trailed off, however when she saw Blair Bass at the landing gesturing for her to be quiet.

"Anne, I'm going to have to call you back," She whispered before she ended the call and looked questioningly at Blair, "What is it?" She asked.

Blair smiled and pointed towards the sitting room, "Come see."

Emily followed her into the other room and immediately gasped at the sight before her. Her boyfriend, Ed Bass, was lying on the couch fast asleep with their infant son, Tristan, resting comfortably on his chest. The books that he had been studying when she left them a little over an hour ago were lying open on the coffee table in front of him, obviously forgotten.

Blair smiled when she looked over and saw Emily's reaction. "It's precious, isn't it?" She asked. Emily nodded and Blair drifted off for a moment, remembering a similar moment from years ago.

…

_Blair walked through the penthouse, searching for her husband. She had just returned from a shopping trip with Serena, who had only recently found out she was expecting her first child, and she didn't want to call out Chuck's name since it was the baby's nap time and she didn't want to wake him._

_She reached Chuck's office and knocked on his door before she opened it slowly, "Chuck?" She whispered as she peaked into the room. And when she did, she immediately froze._

_Chuck was sitting in his chair with baby CJ held snugly against his chest. The infant was obviously sleeping and Chuck was also fast asleep, with his head leaning back and his mouth slightly opened._

_Blair was leaning against the door frame, watching her two men sleeping when she noticed the baby starting to stir. Not wanting to wake Chuck, Blair moved forward, but when she tried to take little CJ from his arms, Chuck's grip on the infant tightened and his eyes opened. He looked around for a moment, trying to figure out where he was and what was happening, "What are you doing?" He asked as he loosened his grip to allow Blair to take the baby._

"_I'm taking CJ to his bed. You are obviously exhausted. I guess we will just have to go out another night. Don't worry, I'll call Lily."_

_She was already halfway out the door when she finished speaking, but Chuck wouldn't let her get away that easily. He was suddenly wide awake and following her down the hall, "Blair, Blair wait."_

_Blair paused and turned around with her finger pressed to her lips, "Shh!" She scolded, "Do you want to wake up the baby?"_

_Chuck slowed down and waited in the hall while Blair put CJ to bed. But as soon as she closed the nursery door, he pounced, pulling her into their bedroom and facing her with narrowed eyes, "You will _not_ be calling anyone, Blair Bass. We have had this night planned for weeks."_

"_Yes," Blair explained calmly, busying herself tidying the room so she wouldn't have to look at him, "And I know the doctor just gave us the okay to be together, but if you are too tired, it is fine. We can wait."_

"_No." Chuck said firmly, reaching out and grasping her arm so she was forced to stop and meet his gaze as a slow smirk spread across his face, "I'm not tired, I was merely storing up my energy for the various activities I have planned for us tonight."_

_Blair plastered a smile on her face and placed a hand on his cheek, "You don't have to lie to me, Chuck. I know how busy you have been since the baby was born; trying to be here with us while still running Bass Industries. And add to that the fact that CJ hasn't let either of us to get a full night sleep in weeks; I understand why you are tired." She shrugged her shoulders, "We can do this another night."_

_She started to walk towards her closet before Chuck spoke, "I know what you're doing, Blair."_

_She turned around and crossed her arms over her chest, "What are you talking about, Bass?"_

_He stalked towards her and pulled her tightly against his body as he looked down into her eyes, "I know you," He told her, "And I know how you act when you are nervous and why you are feeling that way about this evening."_

"_And why would that be?"_

_He raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, "Blair," He drawled, "Don't play this game."_

_She sighed and turned her eyes towards the ground, "I'm not perfect yet. I-, I don't want you to be disappointed."_

"_I won't," He leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "That isn't possible. And you are perfect. You're _always_ perfect."_

"_Chuck-" She began to protest, but he cut her off._

"_I have been waiting over six weeks for this night. Six weeks of having to hold myself back and be satisfied with dreams and fantasies of being buried deep inside of you," He cupped her face gently in his hands, "If I thought you really weren't ready, I wouldn't be pushing so hard. You know that. But I can tell that you need this just as much as I do. You've missed me just as much as I've missed you."_

"_You are quite sure of yourself, aren't you, Bass?" She asked with a coy smile._

_He smirked back at her, "Always, Mrs. Bass."_

…

"As much as I hate to do it, I should really wake him. He will need to get ready for tonight," Emily said, breaking Blair out of her revere.

Blair nodded in agreement and decided to leave the room so the two teenagers could have some privacy.

Emily walked over towards Ed and sat down on the edge of the couch next to him. She rubbed his arm gently and whispered to him, "Hey sleepy-head, it's time to wake up."

Ed's eyes fluttered open and Emily took the baby from him so he could sit up, "What time is it?" He asked while he rubbed at his eyes.

"Late," She told him. "You have about an hour to get ready; that is, if you're not too tired to go out."

Ed was suddenly wide awake, "No, of course not."

"Good," Emily said before she kissed his nose and rose to her feet, "Because I've been waiting for this night for a long time. I'm going to go upstairs and put Tristan to bed so I can finish getting ready and I suggest you do the same so we don't miss our reservation."

…

Emily and Ed's evening began with a fancy dinner at the Palace before they were planning on heading up to one of the hotel's suites to enjoy the rest of their evening.

The food had been great and both Ed and Emily had enjoyed it, but when the waiter came back to ask if they wanted dessert, Emily turned it down before Ed could even open his mouth.

"No thank you," She said, sending the man a dazzling smile, "Just put the meal on Mr. Bass's tab."

The waiter nodded and left and as soon as he was gone Ed gave her a questioning look, "I was going to order your favorite."

"That's alright," She told him, just as Ed felt her heel running along his calve, "We'll just have dessert up in the room."

"I like the way you think, Vanderbilt," He growled right before he grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the restaurant.

…

As soon as they were up in their room, Ed and Emily were instantly fused together, attacking each other's lips and pressed tightly together along the length of their bodies.

But when Emily reached over to turn off the light, Ed grabbed her hand and stopped her, "Don't. Leave it on."

He could literally feel Emily tense in his arms and he was confused when she took a step back.

"Ed, I-, I don't know if I want to do this."

"What? Why?" He asked, "What's wrong? Did I do something?"

"No," She shook her head, "I just-, it's not going to be the same as it was before."

Ed's eyes narrowed, "What are you talking about?"

She did her best to avoid his gaze, "I mean, I'm still almost fifteen pounds heavier than I was before-"

"Before you had a baby?" Ed interrupted furiously, "Well of course you are! It has only been six weeks." He sighed before he moved towards her and placed his hands on her elbows so she would look up at him, "Emily, I love you. I don't care about a few extra pounds. To me you are just as beautiful as you have ever been." He leaned in closely so his mouth was right against her ear, "I want you, Vanderbilt. I want you so badly that every single night this week I have dreamed about fucking you in every way imaginable."

Emily snorted slightly before she turned away from him. Ed thought he had said something wrong, but just as he was about to apologize, Emily looked over her shoulder at him and asked, "Can you unzip me? This zipper is always difficult for me to reach."

Ed's smirk returned as he stepped forward and slowly pulled the zipper of her dress down, exposing more and more of her delicate skin to his eyes. He pressed a kiss to the back of her shoulder and whispered into her skin, "You're perfect, absolutely perfect. And I love you."

She let her dress drop and turned back around so she could take his hand and lead him towards the bedroom, "I love you too," She said seductively, "So why don't you let me show you just how much."

His eyes ran over her form, and though Emily tried to shy away, Ed wouldn't let her, "Fuck," He said in awe, "I can't wait."

…

Later that night, Ed and Emily were lying in bed, arms and legs all tangled together when Ed turned them so that she was on top of him.

"Ed!" She shrieked, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, don't get shy on me now, princess. I told you all about my dirty fantasies from the last week and I plan on fulfilling every last one of them."

"Mmm," Emily moaned against his lips, "It's going to be a long night, isn't it?"

"You bet it is." He groaned.

He had just begun to kiss her when his phone started vibrating on the table next to them and before he could stop her, Emily sat up and reached for it. "Leave it," He tried to tell her, "It's not important."

"It's your dad," She said, showing him the phone, "It could be about Tristan."

Ed grumbled in annoyance but put the phone to his ear and answered the call, "Hello?" Emily watched as he frowned, "But Mom said we could have the whole night; that she would watch Tris-" He stopped to listen and then his whole face fell, "Oh shit," He whispered.

Emily shifted so that he could sit up and she was able to hear the other end of the conversation if she listened closely, "I called Dorota and she is on her way. Your mother and I both also tried to contact Theodore, but he didn't respond."

"Don't worry, Dad, I'll try calling him."

"Thank you, son. Anyway, we had to leave Fredrick in charge by himself, so if I were you I would come home sooner rather than later." She heard Chuck say.

"Yeah, okay, we'll leave as soon as we can," Ed said, his eyes meeting Emily's. She still wasn't sure what was happening, but without further prodding she got out of the bed and began to pull back on her dress while Ed continued speaking to his father.

"Do you think it's bad?...Okay, just-, just let me know when you find out anything, alright?...Thanks." He hung up the phone and Emily looked at him with wide, questioning eyes. He looked grim as he told her, "They're taking Fitz to the hospital. They think the cancer might be back."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thanks for all the lovely reviews! I'm so glad so many of you are excited for this sequel! You may be able to tell, but this chapter takes place pretty much at the same time as the second half of the last chapter, if that makes sense.

Also, I would just like to remind everyone that I am in no way shape or form a medical expert. I have done some minor research, but that is all.

Enjoy!

…

_Blair drummed her fingers against the counter and sighed as she waited for the sales girl to come back with her packages. It had been a long day shopping for new school clothes for all of her sons and both she and the boys were ready to get home. _

_She checked her watch and searched for the girl impatiently. She was a little over four months pregnant and her feet were starting to hurt. Plus, the younger boys were starting to get out of hand. Blair heard a crash and she turned around to see Ed and Theo snickering by a fallen mannequin while Ricky tried desperately to rip its head off. _

"_Boys!" She yelled. But before she could take a step towards them, Hank had gone over and pulled him off. While he was trying to hold onto Ricky, the twins attempted to move over to another display to create more chaos. _

_Hank was able to catch them before they got far, but it forced him to let go of Ricky, who immediately made his way back over to the fallen mannequin. _

_Blair pinched the bridge of her nose and snapped to her oldest son, "CJ!" He looked up from the sales girl he was currently hitting on and Blair pointed towards the other boys, "Can you please help Harold handle your brothers?" _

_CJ grumbled under his breath but made his way over towards the disaster area that the younger Bass boys had created. _

_Blair was just looking around for her missing son when she felt a slight tug on her skirt, "Mommy," She looked down and Fitz was standing right by her, leaning slightly into her side._

"_What is it, baby?" She asked as she leaned down closer towards him, "Are you okay?"_

"_I'm tired. Are we going to go home soon?"_

_Blair noticed how pale he looked and she ran her hand over his hair, "Yes, sweetie," She told him, "We're going to leave right after this."_

_Blair was rubbing his back while they continued to wait when she noticed that CJ was busy on his phone while Hank once again struggled to keep the younger boys in line. _

"_Charles! Help your brother!" _

_CJ looked up and scowled but put his phone away and scoped Ricky up over his shoulder, despite the boy's protests._

_Blair took a deep breath to relax herself and glared at a nearby employee, "How much longer is this going to take?" She snapped._

"_Mrs. Bass," The woman said timidly, "You bought a lot of things. They are just wrapping it all up."_

"_Well they should learn to do it faster." Blair said, trying her best to remain calm._

_Fitz leaned his head against her side, "Mommy, I want to go home."_

"_I know, sweetie," She soothed. She looked at him and he looked miserable. Fitz was never one to complain or cause trouble, so Blair figured he must not have been feeling well. "CJ," She called out again._

"_I'm helping, Mom. Relax." CJ said as he struggled to hold on to Ricky._

"_No, come over here; and bring him with you."_

_CJ came over and placed Ricky down in front of him while keeping a firm grip on his shoulders so he couldn't run off. _

"_Fredrick." Blair said sternly, causing her youngest son to stop squirming and look at her, "Come here," She held out her hand and Ricky took it, "You are going to stand here and behave yourself, you understand?" He nodded and Blair looked back at CJ, "And you are going to take Sebastian. He isn't feeling well."_

_CJ nodded and hoisted Fitz into his arms, "Hey buddy, you want to get home too, huh?"_

_Fitz rested his head against CJ's shoulder and nodded his head silently._

_Blair kept a firm grip on Ricky and tried to remain patient, even though she too was getting a little desperate to get home. She was so busy looking for the sales girl that she didn't notice when Ricky's hand began reaching for a display of sunglasses nearby. He was just about to grab onto one when a hand reached out and stopped him. _

"_Basses don't steal," A familiar, deep voice said, "We have too much money for that."_

_Blair instantly relaxed at the sound of Chuck's voice as she turned around, "What are you doing here?" She asked as she stepped into his side so he could wrap an arm around her waist, "Not that I'm not extremely glad that you are."_

_He chuckled as he kissed the side of her head and scoped Ricky up into his arms, "My meeting got out early and I thought you might need a hand."  
_

_"With these six? I always do," She told him as her hand came to rest on her stomach._

_Chuck noticed and looked at her seriously, "Maybe we should hire someone…"  
_

_"No." Blair said firmly, "I don't want someone else to raise my children."_

"_Fine," Chuck said, letting the topic drop since he knew he would never change his mind, "So I take it the shopping trip was a success?"  
_

_"It was," Blair said with a nod, "It has just gone on for a bit too long. The boys are getting antsy, and I think Sebastian might be sick."_

_Chuck looked over at him and nodded his head, "I'll make an appointment right now." He said, pulling out his phone just as the sales girl returned._

"_Finally," Blair remarked, signing her bill and leading the employees carrying her bags out to their limo. _

…

Blair was standing in the kitchen warming up a glass of milk for Lexie while Chuck was reading a story with her on the couch. She reached for a glass in the cabinet and she couldn't help but smile when she turned and watched as Lexie slowly sounded out the sentence on the page with Chuck interjecting now and then to help her out.

Right at that moment he looked up and caught her eye and they shared a soft smile. Years ago they never would have imagined this would be their life, sitting at home on a Saturday night with their children instead of out at some social event or charity function. And yet, they wouldn't change it for the world.

The peace of the night was broken by a call coming from up the stairs, "Mom!"

The hint of fear in the tone of Ricky's voice, even from so far away, caused Blair to pause in her actions and met Chuck's confused gaze.

"Mom!" The call came again with a greater since of urgency and obvious panic, "Dad!"

Without any further hesitation, both Chuck and Blair were up and rushing up to the second floor. They walked down the hall, trying to figure out where their son was, "Fredrick?" Blair called out, "Honey, where are you?"

He stepped halfway out of the bathroom just ahead of them, his eyes wide and frightened, "Mom," he said softly then looked back into the bathroom, "I-, I-"

"What is it?" Blair asked even as she was moving forward to see for herself.

She gasped and Chuck looked over her shoulder into the bathroom. Fitz was leaning over the sink with blood pouring out of his nose. He looked back at her helplessly, "Mom…I'm sorry."

"Okay," Blair said, moving forward and going into damage control mode, "its okay. Everything is going to be okay."

She grabbed a towel that was hanging nearby and pressed it to Fitz's face, "Chuck, call the limo and have it brought around front."

Chuck nodded, already on his phone, "I'll call the hospital too and make sure they are waiting for us. Fredrick, why don't you go wait downstairs with your sister."

Ricky hurried away while Blair was trying to clean Fitz up a bit and Chuck was barking orders into his phone.

Ricky joined Lexie on the couch and placed his head in his hands.

"What's wrong, Ricky?" Lexie asked him, "Where did Mommy and Daddy go? We were almost done with the story!"

"Shut up, Lex." Ricky grumbled, not even bothering to lift his head.

Lexie frowned and glared at him, "Do not tell me to shut up! I'm going to tell Daddy-"

She had started to stand up, but Ricky grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "Leave him alone," He hissed, "He doesn't care about your little problems right now."

"Yes he does," Lexie stomped her foot in protest, "I'm going to tell him what you said and he will-"

"He won't do anything." Ricky snapped, "Dad doesn't give a shit about what I said to you right now. He has bigger things to deal with. Fitz is sick. They are taking him to the hospital."

Lexie's eyes widened slightly as she comprehended what he was saying. She didn't remember much from when Fitz had been sick the first time, but from what she could recall and what she had heard from the others, she knew it was serious.

She sat back down next to Ricky just as Chuck came down the stairs, still talking on his phone angrily, "I don't care if it is his night off. Call him and wake him up. I pay for him to work at your fucking hospital. I'm giving you five minutes and if I call back and he is not on his way it will be your job."

Chuck snapped his phone closed with a growl and looked up at Ricky and Lexie, noticing them in the room for the first time.

"Dad-," Ricky said quietly, rising to his feet with the fear still clear on his face.

Chuck ran a hand over his face and sighed. He placed a hand on his son's shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, "Fredrick I am going to need you to take charge here for a bit. I will call Dorota and your brothers, but it might take a little while for someone to get here. You can handle that, can't you?"

Ricky nodded silently and Chuck patted his shoulder, "I knew you could." He looked over towards the couch where Lexie was staring at him with tears trailing down her face silently. Chuck walked right over and knelt down in front of her. He wiped away her tears and tried to soother her, "Don't cry, Princess," He said softly, but Lexie only began to cry harder and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. He rubbed her back as he continued, "It's okay; you don't have to be scared. Please don't cry."

Lexie pulled back and wiped the back of her hand under her nose as she sniffled, "Is Fitzby going to be alright? Will the doctor make him better again?"

Chuck opened his mouth to respond just as Blair and Fitz came down the stairs wrapped in their jackets and with a towel still held against Fitz's nose. Chuck looked at them and then back down at Lexie, "I don't know, Princess," He shook his head, "I-, I don't know."

He stood up, placed a quick kiss on the top of Lexie's head and walked to the elevator where Blair and Fitz were waiting. He turned back and met Ricky's eyes, "Be good. We'll try to call as soon as we can."

Ricky could only nod before the doors closed.


	3. Chapter 3

_Chuck and Blair sat tensely in the chairs of the doctor's office at New York's finest hospital while Fitz sat in the corner playing with some trucks. Chuck and Blair's hands were clasped tightly together as they waited patiently for the doctor to come in and tell them the test results. When Fitz had first started feeling ill earlier that week they had taken him to the pediatrician, who had examined him and recommended they take him here to the hospital for further tests. And after a few days of blood work and poking and prodding and Fitz screaming every time, they were finally going to find out what all those tests had determined._

_Finally, after what felt like hours, the doctor came in and took a seat behind his desk. He opened the file in front of him, took a deep breath and looked at the couple across from him, "Mr. and Mrs. Bass," He said, folding his hands on top of his desk, "Sebastian's test results, well, they aren't as we would have hoped."_

"_What exactly do you mean?" Chuck asked, "Surely there aren't more tests you need to do. You've attacked my kid enough."_

"_No, no," The doctor quickly shook his head, "We have a diagnoses. Now we just need to focus on treatment."_

"_Treatment?" Blair said, her hand squeezing tighter to Chuck's, "Treatment for what?"_

_The doctor paused and straightened his glasses before he looked between Chuck and Blair once again, "Mr. and Mrs. Bass, your son has acute lymphocytic leukemia."_

_Blair gasped, "Cancer? He-, he has cancer?"_

_The doctor nodded his head, "I'm afraid so. However, the remission rate for ALL is extremely high and we have managed to catch it in plenty of time. I'm optimistic that given the right treatment your son has a great chance to fully-recover."_

_Chuck was already pulling his phone out of his pocket, "I want a second opinion."_

_Blair looked over at him with her mouth open, "Chuck-"_

"_No," Chuck shook his head, "He may be a great doctor, but he is not the best. If my son is sick he is going to have the best. I won't accept anything less."_

"_Chuck-" Blair began again, but the doctor interrupted her._

"_It's alright, Mrs. Bass. You are entitled to get another opinion."_

"_Of course I am," Chuck spat, "And the best pediatric oncologist in North America will be here in the morning. I'm sure there will be an office open and available for him by then?"_

_The doctor looked shocked, "I-, ah, what?"_

_Chuck glared at him, "You didn't think we would go to him, did you? He will need somewhere to work out of, and this hospital has the best accommodations for him to work with."_

"_But-, but you can't do that." The doctor protested._

_Chuck's eyes narrowed, "I'm Chuck Bass. I can do whatever I want."_

_He made to stand up and storm out, but Blair placed a hand on his arm, "Chuck, wait." She said before looking pointedly over at their son who was still playing happily in the corner. The boy had been undisturbed by the tense atmosphere of the office and his father's harsh tone only because he was used to it after years of his older brothers causing trouble that his parents had to deal with._

_Chuck sat back in his seat and Blair looked over at the doctor, "Could you give us a few minutes?"_

"_Of course," The man nodded and walked out of the room, leaving the three Basses alone._

_Chuck and Blair stared at each other for a moment, communicating how they wanted to handle this, before Blair gave his hand a final squeeze and she turned back towards Fitz, "Sebastian," She called, "Come over here, your father and I want to speak with you."_

_Fitz walked over and looked back and forth between his parents' worried faces, "What is it? Am I in trouble?"_

"_Nope," Chuck said right before he scoped him up to sit in his lap, "But we have to talk to you about what the doctor just told us."_

_Fitz sighed and looked down at his hands, "Do I have to get more shots?"_

_Chuck looked over at his wife and he could already see the tears forming in her eyes. He took a deep breath and ran his hand down the back of his son's hair, "Probably," He felt Fitz stiffen in his arms and he quickly continued, "But this time it will be making you better."_

_Fitz looked up at him with a trembling lip, "So I'm really sick?"_

_Chuck nodded his head sadly, "I'm afraid so. But I'm going to make sure you have the best doctor in the whole world and he is going to make you better as fast as he can, okay?"_

_Fitz tried to nod, but he couldn't stop the tears that spilled over and he swiftly buried his face in his father's neck, "I'm scared." _

_Chuck closed his eyes and tried to collect himself while he put a reassuring hand on the boy's back. He hated seeing his children upset, even when it was over simple things that he could easily fix, so he was completely overwhelmed by this situation. Luckily, Blair scooted her chair over and began rubbing Fitz's back gently, "Hey, it's okay to be scared." She told him, "But your father and I are going to be right here with you the whole time, okay?"_

_Fitz looked up first at Blair and then over at Chuck before he nodded his head, "Okay."_

…

Ricky was at his wits end. Lexie was whining on the couch, still on the verge of tears, refusing to go to bed until she heard from their parents and Tristan had been screaming at the top of his lungs for the last twenty minutes. Ricky was rocking the baby back and forth, trying to comfort him, but he was barely holding himself together as it was after what he had witnessed that evening with his brother.

Just when he thought he couldn't take another minute of the chaos, the elevator doors opened and Ed and Emily came hurrying in.

"Emily!" Lexie proclaimed, jumping up from the couch and rushing over to the older girl. Ricky turned around and met Emily's gaze with wide eyes on the verge of panic, causing Emily to immediately move forward and take the baby from his arms, just as Lexie reached her and wrapped her arms around her.

"Shh, Mommy's here," She cooed at the baby, before she looked over her shoulder once more at Ricky, "Thank you," She told him, "You did great." She held the baby with one hand while she took Lexie's hand with the other, "Come on, Lex, let's go upstairs and get you to bed."

As soon as they were gone, Ricky collapsed on the couch and buried his head in his hands. Ed tentatively strolled over and sat down next to him. "Thanks for holding down the fort, Rick," He said, clapping him on the back, "Emily was right, you did a good job."

After a few moments of silence, Ed started stand up, but he stopped when Ricky spoke, "I just wanted to take a shower."

Ed lowered himself back onto the sofa and furrowed his brow, "What?"

"I just wanted to take a shower and go to bed. But he was in the bathroom for so long. I kept pounding on the door, but he wouldn't come out. Finally I just barged in and he-, he was leaning over the sink and I-, I didn't know what to do-"

"You found him?" Ed asked quietly, "Shit, Ricky, I didn't know-"

"It was so fucked up." Ricky shook his head and chuckled bitterly, "There was blood everywhere and he was trying to cover it up like nothing was wrong. What an idiot."

"He was probably just scared," Ed rationalized.

Ricky whipped his head up and glared at him, "And you think I wasn't? I didn't know what the fuck was going on." He took a shaky breath and ran his hand through his hair, "I just stood there. I-, I didn't know what to do."

After a long, stressful night, Ricky finally began to break down, causing Ed to reach out and pull him against his chest, "Hey, kid, you did great. You did a great job."

…

Chuck and Blair were sitting in a private hospital room with Fitz after the doctors had managed to stop the bleeding from his nose and run a few tests. They had already been at the hospital for hours and the three of them were exhausted and not looking forward to the bad news they were expecting.

The doctor walked in and shook Chuck's hand, "Mr. Bass, it's nice to see you again. I just wish it was under different circumstances."

Chuck nodded, "Roger," He said in greeting.

The doctor flipped open Fitz's chart and looked at it for a moment before he pursed his lips and snapped it shut. "As I'm sure you have realized I don't have the best news for you all."

Blair closed her eyes and squeezed Fitz's hand while Chuck's jaw tightened, "Its back." He stated, not even bothering to pose it as a question.

"Yes," the doctor replied, "It seems that the leukemia has returned. We still have to run some tests to determine the correct course of treatment, which we will get to immediately, of course."

Blair nodded her head and plastered on a tight smile, "Thank you, Dr. Scott."

"However," the doctor continued, looking once more at the chart, "Sebastian I do have one question for you."

"Yes, Sir?"

"Are you sure there were no prior warnings that you noticed? You weren't feeling tired or sore or anything?"

Fitz clenched his jaw and stared at the man, refusing to answer until the doctor continued, "Because you know that if you did you should have told someone. The sooner we find these things, the easier it is for us to treat them."

When Fitz continued to stare straight ahead, Blair looked down at him and ran her hand over his hair, "Sebastian?" She questioned him softly, "Why wouldn't you tell us?"

He exhaled loudly and looked down at his hands, "I just-, I thought that if I didn't tell anyone it would go away; that if I didn't acknowledge it, it wouldn't be real."

Blair's face fell, "Oh, Sebby," She whispered before she pulled him against her chest and held him close.

…

CJ was woken up by the sound of his phone vibrating on the end table next to him. He squinted at the clock next to him, noting that it was before five in the morning and picked up the phone, "Hello?" He asked groggily.

"CJ, darling, it's your mother. I'm sorry to wake you so early."

"No its okay," He said as he slipped on his robe and got out of bed so he didn't disturb Lauren, "What's going on?"

Blair sighed into the phone, "Your father and I just spent the night at the hospital, with Sebastian."

CJ froze, "Oh god. Is he okay?"

"The cancer has returned," Blair told him with a note of defeat in her voice.

"Shit. How is he handling it? Do you want me to come home?"

"No, no. It is alright. Sebastian is strong. He has been through this before, so he knows what he is up against. I just wanted you to hear it first from me before you heard it from anyone else." CJ could hear his mother struggling to keep her composure.

"Okay, well, if you're sure…" CJ said hesitantly.

"I am," Blair answered quickly. "You have classes and your wife to worry about. However, your father and I will make sure to keep you in the loop."

"Thanks, Mom. Go get some rest. I'll talk to you soon."

"Okay," Blair said softly, "I love you, Charles."

CJ's lips quirked in a small smile, "I love you too, Mom."

As soon as he hung up with her, CJ was redialing and putting his phone up to his ear. The other end picked up on the second ring, "Hello?"

"Hank, have you talked to Mom yet?"

"About Fitz? Yeah. She told me to stay put."

CJ ran a hand over his face, "Yeah, me too. But I don't think that's a good idea-"

"I already ordered a car. I'm leaving in ten. Do you want me to pick you up?"

CJ nodded even though his brother couldn't see him, "Of course."


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: I'm sorry I've taken so long to update. There is a lot going on in this and the next 1-2 chapters, so it has taken me a bit to get it organized. Thanks for all the reviews! I appreciate each and every one of them!

…

CJ and Hank were waiting for the elevator up to the Bass penthouse and when the doors opened they were surprised to see Ed rushing out.

"Hey!" CJ called out, causing Ed to pause and turn around in confusion.

"What are you guys doing here?" He asked.

"Mom called us." Hank said simply, which was enough for Ed to nod his head in understanding. "Where are you going?"

Ed frowned, "To drag Theo out of whatever drug-induced coma he is in and bring him home. He isn't answering his phone."

CJ shook his head disapprovingly and Hank sighed, "Good luck."

"Thanks, I'll see you later." Ed said as his brothers stepped into the elevator.

When CJ and Hank arrived in the penthouse they didn't see anyone so they wandered upstairs, and when they looked into the twins' room they saw Ricky fast asleep in Theo's bed while Emily sat in a chair nearby with Tristan in her arms.

Emily looked over when they entered and smiled, "Hi CJ, Hi Hank," She said softly.

"Hey," Hank whispered back, "What are you doing in here?"

"He was having trouble falling asleep," she said nodding towards Ricky, "so he sat in her with Ed and I until he drifted off. It wasn't even 30 minutes ago, the poor kid." She sighed and shook her head, "He found Fitz last night."

"Shit." CJ said and ran his hand through his hair, "You-, uh, you must be exhausted, after being up all night with him and after everything that happened…"

"I'm fine-" Emily tried to assure them, but Hank would listen.

"Go to bed," He told her, "We'll take care of Ricky." And without waiting for her answer he scooped the boy up and carried him out the door to his own room.

Once they were gone, CJ turned back towards Emily with a slight smile, "Seriously, Em, get some sleep. Once my parents and Fitz get back you're going to need it."

But Emily just shook her head, "It's really okay-" She was interrupted this time by a loud call from down the hall.

"Daddy?" Lexie's voice called out, "Mommy?"

Emily looked up at CJ with wide eyes, "I should get her. She's only been in bed for a few hours."

"No," He told her firmly, "I'll go. You get some sleep."

She hesitated for a second before she finally gave in, "Fine." Her voice softened slightly, "Thank you, CJ."

"No, thank you, for being here; for staying," He said as he led her out of the room.

He walked down the hall a few feet to Lexie's room and tentatively opened the door, "Lex?" He said cautiously as he looked over at her sitting in the bed with the blankets clutched tightly around her.

"CJ? What are you doing here?"

He crossed the room and tried to grin like everything was just fine, "Hank and I decided to come visit for a few days."

"Because Fitzby is sick."

CJ nodded and sat down on the bed next to her, "Can't get anything past you, can I, kid?"

Lexie yawned and leaned back against the pillows. CJ noticed this and tucked the blankets around her, "You were up late last night, huh Lex?"

She nodded, "I wanted to wait for Mommy and Daddy to come home with Fitzby, but I fell asleep. Are they here?"

He shook his head, "Nope, not yet. Why don't you go back to sleep?"

"But I want to wait for them," She protested, even as her eyes started to drift closed.

"How about this," CJ bartered, "I'll wake you up the minute they get home, okay?"

Lexie's eyes began to drift closed once again, "You promise?"

"I promise," CJ whispered before he stood and kissed her forehead, "Now go back to sleep, they will be home soon."

As soon as he had walked out and closed her door, CJ's phone began to ring. When he saw Lauren's name on the screen he quickly answered the call, "Hello?"

"Hey, babe, where are you? I woke up this morning and you, and some of your clothes, were gone."

"Yeah, uh, I went home for a few days."

There was a slight pause on the other end, "Are we-, did we have a fight that I don't know about?"

CJ couldn't stop from chuckling slightly, "No, there was no fight." He took a deep breath and pressed his fingers to his eyes, "Hank and I came home because my mom called this morning. They spent all night at the hospital with Fitz. He is sick again."

"Oh my god, CJ, that's awful," She said, "How is he handling it? How is everyone handling it? Do you want me to come down?"

"No, no. That's okay. My mom didn't even want Hank and I to come."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," CJ reassured her, "I'm just going to stay here for a few days, until things get settled."

"Okay," Lauren said reluctantly, "Well, I'll be thinking about everyone. Give them my love."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too."

CJ hung up with a sigh and began to walk down the stairs. He was halfway down them when he noticed two people were talking on the first floor and when he made it to the bottom he saw Hank and his mother talking in the kitchen.

"Mom!" He said, causing Blair to look up in surprise.

"CJ, you're here too? I told you boys you didn't have to come!"

"Come on, Mom, did you really expect us to stay away?" CJ asked as he walked forward and kissed Blair on the cheek, "So where is Fitz?"

"Your father took him to the MOMA. Apparently they have a new photography exhibit."

"Yeah, but didn't they go last week when it opened?" CJ asked.

Blair shrugged, "You know your brother; he could go there every day."

Hank and CJ both chuckled, "That is true," CJ said, "Do you think they'll be back soon?"

"Probably," Blair told him, "Sebastian had a long night; we all did. I'm sure both him and Chuck will want to get some sleep. Sebastian just needed some time to unwind a bit."

"That's understandable." Hank said.

Blair nodded before she looked at both of her sons, "Thank you for coming. I'm sure your brother will really appreciate it."

"We wouldn't be anywhere else," CJ told her, "We have to stick together."


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: There might be a slight, _slight_ spoiler in this flashback, but not too bad. You might not even notice it if you don't know what you are looking for. Anyway, I don't think this flashback goes against any of the ground work I set up in previous flashbacks from 'Being There,' but if it does, feel free to call me on it and I will try to adjust.

Also, this flashback will also relate to something in the next chapter (which will probably be much longer) and once I publish it you might notice some reflected dialogue.

Enjoy!

…

_Blair walked into the disaster that was the Empire penthouse and looked around. The apartment was littered with empty alcohol bottles, pills, and various other elements of debauchery and a typical Chuck Bass downward spiral. _

_Ever since she had announced her engagement a few weeks ago, Chuck had been self-destructing in a way that no one had seen since the death of Bart a few years prior. It had gotten to the point where Nate had taken to staying with his latest love interest and even Serena was concerned for Chuck's well-being, which was why Blair was here today. She was the only one who could really get through to him._

_She took a few steps further into the room and that was when she saw him, slouched low on the couch with his head hanging back over the arm rest. She cleared her throat pointedly which caused his head to rise slightly and his eyes to open, "Waldorf, or should I say soon-to-be-Gra…whatever, to what do I owe this pleasure?"_

_Blair rolled her eyes, "You know why I'm here, Bass. No one has seen you in days. You aren't returning any of Lily's calls. She is freaking out. They all are; Serena, Eric, Nate, they all begged me to find out what is going on with you."_

"_Well isn't that touching?" Chuck slurred as his head rolled back to rest against the couch._

"_They are concerned. They think you might have an actual problem."_

"_And you obviously know better."_

"_I knew that if I came here I would know if I needed to worry about you." She paused and stared into his eyes for a moment, "So should I be worried, Chuck?"_

_Chuck smirked and his head fell to the side, "Come on, Waldorf, you know me, I'm fine. I'm just having a good time, doing what Chuck Bass is expected to do."_

_She couldn't help but look at him with concern, "Chuck-"_

"_Stop wasting your time, Waldorf. I don't need your pity. Go back to your fairytale." He waved his hand half-heartedly in an attempt to shoo her away, but she remained where she was and folded her arms over her chest._

"_Do you think that is the only reason I am here? Out of pity?" She asked, "Do you really think that I don't care what happens to you?"_

"_Why would you? After everything I've done…you love someone else."_

_There was a moment of silence that lasted so long he thought she might have left. But just as he opened his eyes again he heard her soft reply, "That doesn't mean I stopped loving you."_

"_You already have a ring."  
_

_"Stop-,"_

"_It is sitting in my safe waiting," He continued rambling drunkenly, "I tried to give it to you once-"_

"_And if you would ever stop fucking up so much, you would be able to give it to me again, but you can't seem to do that, can you?"_

_He blinked at her a few times before his eyes narrowed, "What are you saying?"  
_

_She sighed and looked down as she played with the ring on her left hand, "I'm saying that I haven't forgotten that you have my ring and it will always be _my_ ring."_

_Suddenly the haze of drunkenness and drugs was gone from his eyes and he was looking at her in that predatory way that still caused shivers to run down her spine, "So you're saying I need to keep fighting for you."_

_She glared at him, "I'm engaged." _

_They both noticed that she didn't deny his statement. Chuck stood up from the couch, surprisingly not swaying too much, "Not for long," He said with a devilish smirk before he straightened out his suit jacket, "I hate to be rude, but you'll have to excuse me. I have to get cleaned up. It seems I have some planning to do."_

_When he went to walk by her he paused for just a moment. He looked into her eyes and Blair was convinced he was going to kiss her, though she wasn't quite sure what her reaction would be. But instead he just raised his hand and gently skimmed the back of his fingers down her cheek, "I'll see you soon, lover," He said softly before he disappeared into his bedroom._

_Blair would never admit it to anyone, but her heart was racing as she exited the building and it took the entire car ride back to her building for the effects to even begin to wear off._

…

Ed walked into Theo's apartment and saw the remnants of what had obviously been a wild party. He looked around at the scattered alcohol containers and the various pills and lines of powder on the coffee table and he couldn't help but shake his head.

He walked further into the apartment and threw open the door to Theo's bedroom. The room was pitch-black and the shaft of light from the doorway caused Theo and the two girls next to him to groan in protest.

"Who the hell-?" Theo grumbled, rubbing his hand over his eyes.

"Get out," Ed growled from his position at the entrance of the room.

"Excuse me? You can't make me-"

"Not you," Ed told his brother, "The whores, get them out of here."

Theo sighed and let his head drop back to the pillow, but both girls were sitting up, looking between each other and Theo. Finally he waved his hand lazily, "You heard the man, ladies; it's time for you to go. You know the way out."

The girls pouted as they stumbled around the room and grabbed their clothing before sneaking around Ed and out of the door.

"Thanks, brother," Theo drawled, "I was starting to feel suffocated."

Ed didn't respond. Instead he stalked across the room and pulled the curtains back so the sunlight came streaming into the room.

"What the fuck, Ed!" Theo yelled, throwing his arm over his eyes.

"Let's go," Ed said, walking over to the bed and trying to pull off the covers, "You need to get up too."

Theo grabbed the sheets and pulled back before glaring at his brother, "I may have allowed you to kick out my company, but this is _my_ apartment. You may think you are all high and mighty, but you can't tell me what to do."

Ed's eyes narrowed and he dropped the blankets from his hands, "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Ever since you've become so 'reformed' you walk around on your fucking high horse and look down on me like I'm some sort of scum on the street. How quickly you have forgotten what life was like before your precious Emily entered into it."

"We were never this bad."

"Well can you blame me?" Theo growled, "I don't have anything but this; but my reputation. Mom and Dad keep waiting for the day when I'll change and become like you and CJ; and you, my best friend, my _only _friend, wants nothing to do with me."

"That's not true." Ed protested.

"Really? When was the last time we hung out?" Ed opened his mouth, but Theo quickly continued, "And don't even say we see each other every week. Class doesn't count. And now that you are always rushing home whenever you have a free minute, we don't even spend time together on campus. So this is my life now; throwing the most extravagant parties for everyone who is anyone here at Columbia University and using whatever illegal means necessary to find some enjoyment for myself. Everyone here may know my name and I have more people bowing at my fucking feet than ever before, but that doesn't make me any less alone."

Ed sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He had been so caught up in his own life that he hadn't even realized how miserable his twin had become, "You're right," He said, "I guess I have been a pretty shit brother lately. But I have a family now. I can't spend every night with you getting shit-faced and hooking up with random whores."

"I'm not asking you to." Theo said with a slight shake of his head, "That's not the only thing we did together, is it? Why can't we just go to a bar or something every once and a while so you can live vicariously through all my wild stories and I can hear about the latest adorable thing my godson has done and how much of a bitch Emily is being."

Ed chuckled softly, "We could do that…We should do that; it sounds fun." His face sobered as he looked at his brother, "And for the record, I never thought I was better than you. I was just worried. As much as I've been unavailable, it seems like you have just been spiraling out of control."

"Well I'm not," Theo said gruffly, "Though I can see how it may appear that way. And I'll cut back a bit; We can go out sometimes and I'll try to spend some more time at home, maybe see a bit more of Tristan."

Ed smiled slightly, "He'd like that; or should I say Emily and I would like that. You know I've missed having you around the house. We all have."

"And I'll make sure to stop by later," Theo said as he leaned back and began to bury himself back in his bed, "But for now I need sleep. I'm still recovering from last night."

"No."

Theo opened one eye to look at his brother, "What?" He asked in annoyance.

"You have to come now," Ed insisted, "Where is your phone? Haven't you checked it?"

Theo closed his eyes once more and gestured towards the other room, "It is in the kitchen area somewhere. I turned it off after Mom called for the hundredth time. I didn't feel like dealing with her bitching about my lifestyle."

Ed's jaw clenched and his eyes hardened slightly in anger, "When have Mom or Dad ever interrupted us on a weekend? No matter how much they may have disapproved they always let us fuck around without bothering us."

"What's your point?"

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe Mom had a _reason_ to keep calling you? Didn't you think it might be important?"

Theo sat up again and finally really took a minute to look at his brother. He saw his rumpled clothes and the dark bags under his eyes and his irritation instantly disappeared, "Fuck, what happened?"

"They took Fitz to the hospital. He's sick."

The explanation was barely out of his mouth before Theo was out of the bed and heading towards the bathroom, "Give me 5 minutes. I'll be ready as soon as I can."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I am so so sorry it has taken me so long to update. However, this chapter is fairly long, so I hope that makes up for it a bit!

Also, I'm using this flashback to kind of establish how Chuck and Blair handled Fitz's illness the first time around so you can see how things have changed this time, which will begin to come up in future chapters.

…

_Chuck had just emerged from his closet, still straightening out his tie as he went. It was early in the morning, and he was getting ready to head out for yet another day at the office. He checked his reflection once more in the mirror and his eye caught the gaze of his wife behind him who was still lying in bed._

"_Hey," she purred with a seductive smile._

_He turned towards her with his own sly grin and walked over towards the bed. "Good morning, Beautiful," He said just before he pressed his lips to hers. _

_The kiss became deeper and she began to pull him back into the bed right before they were interrupted by a timid knock at the door. Chuck pulled away with a sigh. It was better off that they had to stop; he really did need to leave for work. As he adjusted his jacket Blair called out kindly, "Come in."_

_The door opened slowly and Fitz peaked around the door. "Hi, Sebastian," Blair said with a smile, "What's up?" He seemed reluctant to answer as he stepped further into the room, so Blair raised her brows and prodded gently, "Is everything alright?"_

_Fitz took a deep breath before he turn to the side, "Is this bad?" He asked as he lifted up his shirt to reveal a scattering of purplish bruises along his side and back. Blair gasped and Chuck's jaw clenched before Fitz continued, "I saw it last night, but I hoped it would go away. It's bad, right?"_

"_I don't know, baby," Blair said, moving to the edge of the bed and pulling Fitz into her arms. "Chuck?" She said, looking up at her husband with a fearful look in her eyes._

_He nodded once and pulled out his phone, "I'll call Dorota to come over sooner. She can watch the baby and get the boys to school."_

"_Call the hospital too. Let them know we are on our way." Blair told him. He nodded again before he opened the door and walked out into the hallway.  
_

_"Mommy, am I sick again?" Fitz asked, pulling away to look up at his mother._

_Blair shook her head, "I don't know, sweetie, I don't know."_

…

_Once they were at the hospital and after a round of tests the doctors confirmed what Chuck and Blair had feared to be true, Fitz's cancer was back and another round of treatment would have to begin immediately._

_After the news was delivered, Chuck and Blair spent a few minutes sitting alone with Fitz, comforting him as he dealt with the new development. He was trying to be brave and not cry, but Blair could tell that he was upset. _

_She also noticed the tension in Chuck's face and she knew he was barely restraining his own emotions in order to be supportive of his son. As soon as Fitz had come to better terms with what was ahead and a nurse had come in to the room, Chuck excused himself for a moment and Blair followed after him._

_By the time she was out in the hallway he was already storming away so that she had to hurry to catch up to him. "Chuck, wait! Where are you going?" She called after him, but he acted like he didn't hear her and didn't slow down at all._

_She followed him as he stormed into the doctor's personal office. "What kind of crack doctor are you?" Chuck growled as he leaned in closely over the doctor's desk. "I don't pay you all this money so you can give my son false hope. How the fuck could you send him home with a clean bill of health only to have him back here weeks later obviously still very sick."_

_The doctor took off his reading glasses and calmly shook his head, "Mr. Bass, I understand you are upset-"_

"_Upset? You think I'm upset? What about my son? You're lucky I don't have your ass fired for this."_

"_Chuck!" Blair admonished. She turned to the doctor apologetically, "Dr. Scott, I'm so sorry-"  
_

_The doctor held up his hand, "It's alright Mrs. Bass, I understand. Your husband has every right to be angry. He had his hopes up just as much as your son." The man took a deep breath and turned his attention to Chuck, "Mr. Bass, you have to understand that none of this was intentional. My staff and I know that you are upset. We are too." Chuck snorted but Dr. Scott ignored it and continued, "Sebastian is a great kid, but I can guarantee that when we said goodbye a few weeks ago we all hoped we would be seeing a lot less of him. Sometimes things like this happen."_

"_Well it shouldn't," Chuck spat, "Not from the best. Maybe you're not as good as you think."_

_Dr. Scott's eyes narrowed, "Are you saying you didn't do your research before you brought me here?"_

_Chuck glared at the man for a minute before he pursed his lips and looked away. Blair took the opportunity to step forward and take her husband's hand. "Roger, can you give us a minute?" She asked softly, not taking her eyes off Chuck._

_The doctor nodded, "Sure, take your time."_

_He got up and walked out of the office, leaving Chuck and Blair alone. "Chuck," Blair began gently, "I know you're angry about this situation but you can't just-"  
_

_"Of course I'm angry," Chuck hissed, finally looking over at her, "How can you not be after seeing Sebastian's face when they told him he isn't the picture of health that they made him believe he was."_

"_Don't you dare imply that I don't care about our son, or that I am not hurting over this right now," Blair said darkly, "Just because I don't go flying off the handle and lash out at anyone near me when I get bad news does not mean that I am not feeling the same way you are."_

_There was a slight pause as Chuck closed his breath and inhaled deeply, "He is my son."_

_Blair looked confused, "I know; he is my son too. But you don't have to-"  
_

_"He is my son and he is sick," Chuck said slowly, glancing at her briefly before he shook his head and looked down, "And there is nothing my billions of dollars can do to fix that. I can't fix this, Blair. I-I can't save him from this. All I can do is this, is make sure he gets the best that is available."_

"_You don't even have to do that," Blair told him, placing a hand on his arm until he looked at her, "He just needs you to be there for him, and you are already doing that. You're already doing all you can."_

_Chuck pulled her closer to him and sighed heavily, "I just want this to be over; I just want him to be healthy."_

"_Me too," She whispered; pressing her face against his, "Me too."_

…

Blair, CJ, Hank, and Lexie were all gathered together when the elevator arrived once more, this time with Chuck and Fitz. When the pair walked into the room, Fitz looked around at everyone with confusion, "CJ, Hank; what are you guys doing here?"

CJ walked over and ruffled Fitz's hair, "We just thought we would come down and hang out for a few days. That's okay, right?"

Fitz shrugged, "I guess."

"You guess?" CJ teased, "Well, will you at least let me take a look at your new photography project while I'm here?"

"Yeah, sure, but can we do it later? Right now I just want to go to bed. I'm really tired."

"Of course," CJ said, patting Fitz on the back, "Like I said I'll be here for a few days; there will be plenty of time for you to show off you photo skills."

Fitz smiled, "Okay, sounds good."

He trudged up the stairs and Blair looked over at Chuck, about to protest but he shook his head, "Later," He told her, "He needs his rest, and so do you. Let's go lie down for a while."

Blair shook her head, "No, I'm fine. I don't need to-"

Chuck wrapped his hand around her forearm and gently tugged her towards him, "Yes, you do. Come on, the boys will be able to fend for themselves for a few hours."

Blair sighed but allowed him to lead her towards their bedroom. However, they didn't get far before the elevator bell rang again, signaling the arrival of someone else. When the doors opened to reveal Ed and Theo, Chuck dropped his hold on Blair's arm and they shared a look.

"Hey Mom, hey Dad," Ed said tentatively, sensing the tension coming from his parents.

Chuck tore his eyes away from Blair's and nodded at his son, "Hello Edward. Would you mind excusing me for a moment so I can speak with Theodore in private?"

Ed looked over at Theo who was trying to appear nonchalant, though Ed could tell he was getting a little nervous, "Sure, Dad." Ed said before stepping back and sharing one more look with Theo as he turned to follow Chuck to his office.

Once the door was closed, Chuck took a seat behind his desk and Theo sat across from him. Chuck cleared his throat and folded his hands on top of the desk, "Theodore," He began in a business-like tone, "As I am sure you are aware, this is the second time in recent weeks that we have not been able to reach you when a major family event has occurred-"

"I know, Dad, and I'm sorry." Theo tried to apologize, but Chuck only shook his head and continued.

"Your mother and I have never placed restrictions on you or your brothers when it comes to going out or partaking in less than legal activities; however with you it has gotten to the point where your mother and I are concerned." Chuck paused and stared at Theo seriously for a moment, "Should we be concerned?"

"No!" Theo said quickly, "No, Dad, it-, it's not like that."

"Because if you have a problem, you just have to let us know. We will get you whatever help you need-"

"Dad, I don't have a problem!" Theo said in exasperation, trying not to let his temper get out of hand, "I know things have been crazy around here with the weddings and the baby, but I went through quite few changes in the last few months too and I didn't have anyone to lean on as it happened. So yes, I went a little crazy with the partying. But Ed and I talked it through this morning and I'm going to tone it down from now on, I promise."

Chuck looked confused, "You always could have come to me or your mother-"

"No, I couldn't," Theo told him, "I lost my best friend to a girl and fatherhood and I was suddenly in this whole environment with a whole new peer group. It was a stupid, teenage crisis and I should have been able to handle it. You and Mom were already overwhelmed with all of the shit that was going on here. You didn't need to be burdened with my petty problems."

Chuck sighed and his face had lost most of the sternness that had been present earlier, "Theodore, you are our son. We can always make time for you. No matter how foolish your problem may seem, you should know that you can always come to us. I'm sorry that we made feel like you couldn't."

Theo shook his head, "Forget it, Dad. It's not a big deal."

"It is," Chuck persisted, but Theo stopped him.

"No, it's not; especially not with all this shit that is going down with Fitz." Theo looked at his father confidently, "Ed and I talked this morning and we worked it out. That's it; it's done. I don't blame anyone but myself. Just let it go."

After a moment Chuck nodded once, "I still really am sorry that you-"

"Dad," Theo said warningly, "Forget it." He stood up, causing Chuck to do the same, "It wasn't your fault; or Mom's. Even if you had tried to help, I would have claimed to be fine. Really, don't worry about it. You have bigger things to handle right now."

Without a word, Chuck walked around his desk, shook Theo's hand and pulled him in for a rare hug, "I know, but that doesn't erase the guilt I feel for not seeing…"

Theo took a step away and clapped his dad on the back, "You guys are great parents," He said with a smirk, "Just because you have one fuck up son who can't be reformed doesn't change that."

Chuck laughed and followed his son out of the office, "You're still young," He told him, "When I was your age I wasn't completely reformed yet either."


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Andddd here is the first all flashback chapter of this story. It is similar to the flashback to the last chapter, but it also connects to the next chapter as well.

…

_It was hard to tell who was more nervous, Chuck, Blair or Fitz, who knew he was in the hospital to get 'treatment' but he wasn't quite sure exactly what that meant._

_The doctor came in with a smile on his face, "Hello, Sebastian," He said brightly, trying not to frighten the boy any more than necessary, "Do you want to climb up into this bed so we can get started?"_

_Fitz pressed up tightly against his father's side and shook his head wordlessly. The doctor, who was more than used to this type of reaction kept his smile firmly in place, "Okay, well how about this, what if your dad gets up there and you sit with him? Will that work?"_

_Fitz hesitated, looking up at his father before slowly nodding his head in agreement._

"_Great!" The doctor exclaimed before turning his attention to Chuck, "Well, up you go Dad."_

_Chuck did his best to return the man's smile as he unbuttoned his suit jacket and got into the bed. Fitz followed immediately after, sitting on Chuck's lap and holding on tightly to the lapel of his jacket._

"_Okay, Sebastian," The doctor said as he prepared the necessary instruments on a tray, "To get started I'm going to have to give you a small prick…"_

_As soon as he turned around with the needle in his hand, Fitz started to freak out. He turned around and wrapped his arms around his father's neck, "No!" He cried, "Please, Dad, don't let them give me any more shots. I'll take all the yucky medicine in the world, but no more shots!"_

"_I'm sorry, Son," Chuck said as he gently tried to loosen Fitz's grip, "I can't. You have to-"_

"_No," Fitz sobbed, burying his face against Chuck's jacket, "Please Daddy, don't let them."_

_Chuck's pain was all over his face as he pried Fitz's arms off of him and turned him around. He held Fitz down with Blair's help while the doctor was finally able to get the IV in and secure._

_Once the treatment had begun, Fitz was just starting to calm down when a wave of sickness hit him. Chuck remained where he was and Blair rubbed the boy's back soothingly as he threw up into a provided basin that Blair held in front of him. _

_Finally, when the treatment was over and Fitz was beyond exhausted, Chuck extracted himself from the bed so Fitz could lie down and rest more comfortably._

"_Excuse me," Chuck choked out before he escaped out into the hall._

_Blair looked up from her place beside the bed, but she didn't rush after him. Instead she stayed with her son, gently wiping the line of perspiration from his brow and humming a soft melody to help him drift off to sleep. _

_But it was only a few moments later when the nurse came in that Fitz blinked his eyes open (and Blair made a mental note to have the nurse yelled at for making such a racket), "Where did Dad go?" he asked, looking around the room for his father._

"_He stepped outside for a minute," Blair said. She saw his frown deepen so she asked, "Do you want me to go get him?"_

_Fitz nodded sleepily causing Blair to smile slightly, "Okay." She said, standing up and kissing his forehead, "I'll go find your father and bring him back here."_

_Blair looked over at the nurse, who simply nodded, "I'll stay here with him."_

"_Thank you," Blair said gratefully. _

_When she walked out of the room, Blair looked up and down the hallway before she saw Chuck leaning up against a nearby wall with his head back and his palms pressed against his eyes. She walked over to him with slow, hesitant steps. "Chuck…" She began softly, reaching out to place her hand on his arm. She had barely made contact before he pulled her close and pressed his face into her shoulder. She squeezed her eyes closed and ran her hand over the back of his head as she felt the sleeve of her dress become damp with his tears._

_After a few moments, Chuck pulled back slightly and lowered his head even further to wipe the wetness from his face as discretely as possible._

"_I can't do this," He finally said, looking up at her and shaking his head, "I can't just sit there and watch while they-"_

_His voice broke and Blair placed her hands on his face, trying her best to sooth him, "Shh, yes you can," She told him, "You already did, and you did great."_

_Chuck looked at her like she was crazy, "Were you in the same room that I was? Did you hear him _begging_ me to help him? He probably thinks I'm a monster for not doing –"_

"_He doesn't."_

_Chuck shook his head in defeat, "You can't know that. He has every reason –"_

"_He is asking for you," Blair cut him off before he could spiral further into the familiar pit of self-loathing, "He woke up and the first thing he did was ask where you were."_

_Chuck's eyes were wide with disbelief as they met hers once more, "He wants me?" Blair nodded and his brow furrowed, "But why?"  
_

_"Because you are his dad," She said, smiling as she took his hand in hers, "And he understands. He knows why you didn't do anything to stop the doctor. He knows it is the only way he will get better."_

_Chuck looked down and shook his head, "I still feel like I'm failing him. I feel helpless. I just-, I just sat there and did _nothing_ –"_

"_But you were _there_. That is what he needs from us. We just have to be here, with him. That is all we can do."_

_Chuck sighed, "I just wish there was more –"_

"_I know," Blair said, pressing her face against his, "Me too."_

_They stood together like that for a minute before they were able to gather themselves enough to return to Fitz's room. They walked over together but when they reached the door, Blair pulled on Chuck's hand to make him pause._

"_It won't always be like this, you know," She said somberly, "This was only the first treatment. As the chemo goes on, he'll get so used to the whole process that he won't even flinch when they inject him with those giant needles." Her eyes began to well up with tears as she continued, "I hate watching him suffer as much as you do, but I think I am going to miss the days when he screamed and cried. No child, least of all mine, should become used to being poked and prodded by doctors on a regular basis. I would rather he be scared to death than to have him consider the whole thing to be routine." _

_Chuck's jaw clenched grimly as he absorbed her words before he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "Come on, let's go sit with him."_

…

_Early the next morning, Chuck had risen well before the sun was up and he was staring out the window of the hospital room. Blair had been reluctant to leave the night before, but since she was already in her third trimester Chuck had insisted and he was glad he did. The bed provided in the hospital was nowhere near as comfortable as their luxurious king bed at their penthouse._

_He turned around once he heard Fitz stirring behind him, "Hey, kid, how are you feeling?"_

_Fitz rubbed his eyes, "Okay, I'm just really tired."_

"_Well, I think that is to be expected." Chuck said while he walked over towards his son's bed._

_Fitz nodded as he looked down contemplatively, "So, is it going to be like this every time?" He asked, "All the treatments will be like this until I get better?"  
_

_Chuck stared at his son and took a deep breath, "Yes, I'm afraid so."_

_Fitz continued to stare at his hands before he finally looked up at his father, "Okay," He said resolutely, "Then I won't be such a baby anymore. Next time I am going to be brave, just like you, Dad."_

_Chuck could only blink as he tried to comprehend what his son had just said. When he did, he sat down next to the bed and shook his head firmly, "Son, you should never be ashamed of being afraid. Yesterday you were-, the way you acted-, it was incredible."_

"_Really?" Fitz asked with disbelief._

_Chuck swallowed deeply and nodded, "Yes, you are the bravest boy I know, and I could not be prouder of you."_

_Fitz's face lit up like Chuck hadn't seen since before his diagnosis, "Thanks, Dad, but I'm still going to try my hardest to be even less scared next time."_

…

_When Blair arrived later that morning, Chuck met her out in the hall._

"_Hey, how is he?" Blair asked._

"_As good as can be expected," Chuck told her, "He is sleeping right now."_

_Blair looked at the expression on Chuck's face and immediately became concerned, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"_

_Chuck shook his head, "No, like I said, Sebastian is fine." He paused and ran his fingers through his hair, "It's just-, this morning, he woke up for a bit, and it's just…something he said."_

"_Go on," Blair said, raising her brows with curiosity._

_Chuck sighed, "He told me that he wants to be braver in the next treatment…like me."_

_Blair blinked before her lips lifted in a small grin, "That's not a bad thing, Bass."_

_Chuck gave her an incredulous look, "Come on, Blair, you know me better than anyone. Bravery isn't exactly my strong suit. In fact, I believe I have been labeled a coward on more than one occasion."_

"_Yes, when you were a teenager," She stepped forward and placed her hand on his arm, "You're not like that anymore Chuck. You have grown up since then. You have become a great man and a great example for all of your sons." She could tell that Chuck was still skeptical so she continued, "Sebastian doesn't know about your past. All he knows is the person you are now; a strong, caring father who would do anything for his family. And he has every reason in the world to want to be just like you."_

_Chuck shook his head, "He shouldn't. I'm not-, everything I've done-"_

_Blair couldn't stop her smile from growing, "Is this really news to you? All of our sons look up to you. They all try to emulate you. You are their father, and a great one at that. Yes, you have a past, but it has helped you become who you are now and it is part of what our sons admire about you. They look at you and know that even when they mess up, there is still a chance; they can still make things better. I-, We can only hope that they will all turn out as responsible and respectable as you have."_

_Chuck stared at her for a moment before he pulled her towards him and kissed her hard on the mouth. "Thank you," He said, "I-"_

"_I love you, Bass," She said before kissing him again, "I didn't say anything but the truth."_

"_Well, none of it would be true if not for you," He returned, "And I love you too."_

_He kissed her once more before she pulled away and took his hand, "Okay, do I get to see my brave little man now?"_

…

A/N: I hope this chapter shows a bit of how Chuck, in his younger days as a father, struggled a bit with being a role model and an example for his kids, especially given all of the things he had done in his youth.

Also, I did some minor research for this, but most of the stuff regarding Fitz and his treatment comes from movies, books, my head, etc. So don't be too critical. (And the thing Blair says about the treatments become routine was something I definitely heard/read somewhere. I don't remember exactly where, but it stuck with me).


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey," Chuck said as he entered the master bedroom after his talk with Theo.

Blair was standing by the bed in just her slip as Chuck approached her. "How did it go?" She asked him with her concern evident in her tone.

Chuck slipped off his jacket and loosened his tie, "Fine," He said, "Theodore assured me that there was not a problem, although I am still going to try to keep a closer eye on him."

"That's great," Blair said with a fake, plastered on smile, "I knew he would be okay."

Chuck's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is perfectly fine. Why do you ask?"

"I know you, Blair, and given the events of the past twenty four hours, you are a little too freakishly calm right now."

Blair tossed her hair over her shoulder, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Blair…" Chuck said warningly.

"What? Just because we have one teenage son with a child, one with a borderline drug problem, and one with a deathly disease he refuses to acknowledge….why shouldn't I be calm?"

The level of panic in her voice had risen as her rant continued and Chuck said nothing in response, choosing instead to silently step closer to her and envelop her in his arms. "Shhh," He comforted her, "It's alright."

"It is my fault." She choked out as her tears began to fall, "He knew the cancer had returned but he chose to act like nothing was wrong."

"That's not your fault-"

"I do the same exact thing all of the time!" She exclaimed, "You know that. Denial is a Waldorf trait, and he obviously inherited it from me."

"That still does not make it your fault." Chuck argued, "If it did, than basically every other negative characteristic our children exhibit comes from me and you should hate me for it."

"No," Blair was quick to answer, "That is not true."

"Exactly," His tone softened and he reached up to stroke her cheek, "Sebastian knew what he was doing when he decided to keep his symptoms from us. You can't blame yourself for something you had no control over."

Blair shook her head and wiped at her tears, "I can't do this; not again."

Chuck placed his hands on her arms and forced her to look at him, "Yes, you can. Sebastian is strong. We just need to be there for him, remember? He beat this thing once and he will do it again. He wants to win and he fights for what he wants, just like his mother."

Blair looked up at him and shook her head with a small smile, "No, I think he got that trait from both of us."

…

Ed was lounging in Emily's bed when she came and lay down next to him. "Tristan is asleep." She said as she snuggled into Ed's side and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

"Good, good." He said absentmindedly.

Emily thought his distance was just a sign of fatigue and let it go. She was just beginning to drift off to sleep when he broke the silence.

"We should get married."

Emily sat up and looked at him like he was crazy, "What!"

Ed quickly explained, "Well, I mean, we both know we love each other…and we have a son…and I just think it would be good for us to make our family official, you know? Life is too short."

"No." Emily shook her head definitively.

Ed frowned, "No you won't marry me?"

Emily shook her head, "No, not like this. I want a real proposal with a ring and romance and you down on one knee. I want you to want to marry me because you love me, not because everything going on with your brother has given you some new found sense of mortality."

"But I do love you."

"I know," Emily said with a soft smile, "And I love you too. Which is why when you propose to me for real I will gladly accept."

Ed laughed, pulling her back against his chest and kissing the top of her head, "Okay. I'll wait, but you should know that I am going to be planning the most romantic, elaborate proposal you have ever dreamed of."

Emily's grinned widened, "Those are some big words, mister," she teased, "I hope you can live up to them."

"Oh I will, don't you worry."

…

Later that afternoon, after everyone had rested for a bit, the entire Bass family gathered together in the sitting room.

Chuck cleared his throat and began, "So, I am going to assume that you all are already aware that Sebastian's illness has returned. Your mother and I just wanted to speak with you all about the treatment and answer any questions any of you might have."

He hesitated and Blair threaded her fingers through his before he continued, "After running some tests last night, Dr. Scott feels that the best option for Sebastian is to have a bone marrow transplant. Your mother and I volunteered to be tested to be the donor, but apparently the best match is typically a sibling. So if you all would be willing-"

"Of course," CJ answered firmly, "We'll do anything to help. We actually already discussed this, and all of us are willing to donate."

Chuck smiled and shared a look with both Blair and Fitz, "Thank you. We appreciate it, but Sebastian really only needs one donor."

"Well obviously," Theo said with a roll of his eyes, "I thought this option might come up and like CJ said, we already discussed it. We will all get tested and whoever is the best match for Fitz will donate to Fitz. The rest of us are going to donate anonymously."

Chuck and Blair both still looked confused, so Theo continued, "There are tons of kids just like Fitz who don't have five brothers to get the marrow from." He shrugged, "It's the least we can do. If none of us were a match we would want someone to do the same thing for Fitz, right?"

Blair opened her mouth to answer but Ricky interrupted, "It's possible for _none_ of us to match?"

"Sure," CJ said, reaching over and ruffling his hair, "But that's not going to happen. We've got this covered."

The other boys chuckled in agreement before Chuck spoke up, "Well, that is very generous of you all. I know I, and I'm sure your mother," He looked over at Blair for a quick nod of confirmation, "Are very proud of you all."

The boys all sat up a bit straighter and their lips quirked up slightly at their father's praise.

In that moment of quiet Blair cleared her throat, "However, Fredrick, I don't think you will be able to participate in this."

Ricky's face fell in outrage, "Why not!"

"Watch your tone." Chuck growled, causing Blair to squeeze his hand before she answered.

"Well, Sweetie, in order to donate to a stranger you have to be at least eighteen." Seeing the disappointment on Ricky's face, she hesitantly continued, "Your father and I aren't going to have Alexandria tested except as a very last resort, but if you want to-"

"I do!" Ricky said quickly.

Blair nodded, "Then we will give our permission for you to be tested along with your brothers."

"Hey, why don't I get to do it?" Lexie whined from her place on Emily's lap, "I want to help Fitzby too!"

"No." Blair said firmly, "Absolutely not. You are too little."

"But I'm not the baby anymore!" Lexie pouted, "Tristan is. I want to help."

"You will." Emily told her, "You will go to the hospital to visit Fitz and cheer him up, and you will help your mom get the house ready when he comes home, and you will make sure he gets whatever he needs while he is getting better, right?"

Lexie nodded silently and Ed leaned over Emily to tug on her hair gently, "And you're like the secret weapon, Kid. If none of us can do the job it will be all up to you. You're really important."

"Really?" Lexie asked, turning to look at her parents for confirmation.

Chuck nodded, "Of course, Princess. We always need your help."

"Okay," She said, forming her hand into a fist and pounding it into her palm, "Let's beat this thing."

…

Ricky was sitting in his room with a book open in front of him, but he couldn't quite focus on the words. He quickly came to attention, however, when there was a timid knock on his door. It slowly cracked open to reveal his best friend, Allison Archibald.

"Hey," She said softly, "What's up?"

"Nothing," Ricky said gruffly as he sat up, "What are you doing here?"

"Emily called me. She told me what happened with-"

"I don't need your pity."

She crossed her arms over her chest, "Good, because I'm not here to pat your back while you cry on my shoulder."

"Then why the fuck are you here?" He paused and a smirk slowly formed on his face, "Unless you have finally decided to agree to my proposal…"

She took a small step back, "No, I haven't."

He frowned, "Why not? What has you so hesitant? There are hundreds of girls that would kill to have the opportunity I am presenting you with."

"Well then why don't you ask one of them?" She spat, "I'm not just going to hop into bed with you."

You've been my first for everything else," He pointed out, "Why don't you want to do this too?"

"I do," She said slowly, "But sex is a big deal; bigger than all those other things. I just need some time to think about it."

"Fine," Ricky pouted, leaning back against the pillows on his bed, "So that brings us back to the original question: Why are you here?"

She sat down next to him and pulled a slim box out of her purse, "I thought we could watch a movie. I'll even be willing to sit through your favorite."

"'The Godfather' is a classic," He grumbled, "You should enjoy it. I don't know why you talk as if you're doing me some sort of favor by watching it."

"Shut up," She couldn't help but laugh as she slipped the disc into his laptop, "And watch the movie before I stop feeling so generous."

…

A/N: I added the last scene last minute. I just felt like Ricky needed some closer/comforting after what he went through finding his brother and everything. Don't you agree?


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Wow. I am really the worst updater in history. I just moved and have been super busy and this section of the story doesn't really have me extremely excited to write, but I think I'm getting my groove back, so hopefully updates will be more frequent.

I hope you all are still reading. And all of your encouraging reviews have really helped push me to get this written so thank you!

…

_Blair paused as she walked down the hallway, gripping a nearby railing and placing a hand on her stomach. She was taking a few deep, calming breaths when a concerned nurse approached, "Mrs. Bass, are-, are you alright?" She asked. The girl was young and relatively new to the hospital, but even she knew about the Basses. _

_Blair looked up at her and smiled tightly, "I'm fine, thank you."_

_Blair stood up straighter, taking another breath just as the nurse's eyes widened, "Oh my God, are you having contractions? Are you going into labor? Do you need me to call the maternity ward?"_

_The contraction had passed by that point, and Blair ran a hand over her brow, "That isn't necessary."_

"_But-"  
_

_Blair sighed and rolled her eyes, "This is my seventh child. I'll know when it is time to get myself to a doctor. But if you want to be useful you can call my husband and have him come down here so when it is time for this baby to be delivered he can be here to sit with our son while he gets his treatment." _

"_Y-, yes ma'am," The girl said as Blair walked past her._

"_Until then," She said, "That is where you will be able to find me; with my son."_

…

_When Chuck saw that the hospital was calling him, his thoughts immediately jumped to Sebastian. He quickly answered the call and growled, "What is it? What's wrong?"_

_He slowly relaxed as the nurse stuttered her way through an explanation of her conversation with Blair. When she was finished, he pressed his thumb and index finger to his eyes, "Thank you. I'll be there as soon as I can." He told her before hanging up and quickly redialing. As soon as his call was picked up, he made sure to insert the Bass charm into his voice, "Headmistress? Hello, it's Chuck Bass. I hope it isn't too much trouble, but I am going to need a favor."_

…

_When Chuck's limo pulled up in front of St. Jude's twenty minutes later, Chuck was pleased to see CJ standing out on the curb waiting for him. The teenager got into the car and turned to his dad with a confused look, "What's going on? When I got called to the headmistress's office, I was trying to figure out what scandal they were going to try to pin on me, but I was just told to get my things because you were coming to pick me up; just me. Why didn't you pull out Hank or the twins too?"_

"_I'll explain on the way." Chuck said curtly before he signaled for the driver to take them to their next destination._

…

"_Mom, are you okay?" Fitz asked for the second time, "Is the baby hurting you?"_

"_No, sweetie, I'm fine," Blair said with a calm smile, "The baby is just getting a little restless because it is almost time for it to be born." Fitz still looked concerned, so she reached forward and squeezed his hand, "Don't worry, Sebby, I'm not going anywhere, at least not until your father gets here. You won't have to be alone."_

_When Fitz had first been diagnosed, Blair had promised him that he would never have to go through a round of treatment without someone there for him, and she intended to keep that promise. She was not going to leave his side until Chuck showed up to stay with him in her place. _

_Blair grimaced slightly as another contraction hit, which did nothing to lessen Fitz's concern. "Mom, it's okay if you have to-"  
_

_"No, no, your dad will be here soon. I hope." She added under her breath._

_Just then there was a knock at the door and it opened to reveal Chuck, pushing a wheelchair in front of him. "You called?" He asked with a sexy smirk on his face. _

"_Finally," Blair said with a roll of her eyes, "How long does it take you to drive here from your office?"_

"_I had to stop to pick someone up." Chuck said, taking a step further into the room so that CJ could walk in._

"_CJ!" Fitz said excitedly, "What are you doing here? I thought you were in school."_

"_He was," Chuck explained, "But since your mom is about to have the baby and I have to go with her-"_

"_No." Blair tried to protest, but Chuck ignored her._

"_-CJ came along so that he could stay here with you, if that is alright?"_

_Fitz looked from his brother, to Blair, and back at Chuck before slowly nodding his head, "Okay," He said, causing Chuck to grin._

"_Great. Now let me get your mother out of here so that we can have this baby."_

"_Chuck, wait," Blair hesitated as her husband reached out a hand to help her into the wheelchair. She turned to Fitz, "Honey, are you sure?"_

_Fitz nodded and CJ stepped forward and clapped him on the shoulder, "We'll be fine, Mom. Don't worry about us, right Fitzby?"_

"_Yeah, we'll be fine." Fitz said, looking up at his big brother with a small smile._

"_Alright…" Blair said reluctantly, finally allowing Chuck to help her into the wheelchair and take her up to the maternity floor._

…

_The Bass boys, Dorota, and Lily and Rufus were all gathered in one of the waiting rooms at the hospital, eagerly awaiting the announcement of the newest baby Bass. Even Fitz was there. The doctors had allowed him to be brought up to the room after his round of chemo had finished so he could wait with his family even though he was very worn out and having trouble staying awake. _

_Finally Chuck came into the room with a rather large grin on his face, "Blair was right. It's a girl!" He said, causing both Lily and Dorota to clap their hands together in excitement._

"_That's great, Dad!" CJ said, "How is she? And Mom?"  
_

_"Great, everyone is great." Chuck said, obviously still in a blissful state of joy. "Why don't you boys come back and see them?"_

_Chuck went over and picked Fitz up from the chair he was sitting in. "Hey, how are you doing, kid?" Chuck asked. _

_Fitz had automatically rested his head on Chuck's shoulder and struggled to keep his eyes open, "I'm tired, but I want to see the baby."_

"_Okay," Chuck said softly, "We're going now. Come on, boys."_

_Chuck and his sons walked the short distance down the hallway and into Blair's hospital room. "Hello, boys," Blair said when they all came in, "Say hello to your new sister, Alexandria Eleanor Lillian Bass."_

"_She's beautiful, Mom," Hank said, stepping forward and holding out his hands, "May I?"_

"_Sure," Blair said, easily handing the baby over to her son, "And Chuck, bring Fitz over here. He can sit with me."_

_After giving the boy a chance to look at the baby with his brothers, Chuck brought Fitz over to Blair and set him down in the bed next to her._

"_Hey, Sebby," Blair said, running her hand over his hairless head, "How are you feeling?"_

"_Okay," He said. "I'm glad I got to see the baby."_

_Blair smiled, "She's cute isn't she?" When Fitz only nodded she continued, "I'm sorry I had to leave you."  
_

_"It's alright," He said, "CJ was with me. He made it okay."_

"_Good," Blair said, kissing the side of his head, "That's good, but I'm still sorry."_

_While Blair and Fitz were talking, the rest of the boys had gathered around Hank and the baby on the other side of the room. "She's going to be a spoiled little princess, isn't she?" CJ whispered, looking up for a moment to cast a glance at his father._

_Chuck smirked, "You bet she will be. I wouldn't have anything less for my daughter."_

_Blair rolled her eyes, "That poor girl. You are going to scary away any boy she ever tries to bring home."_

"_And we'll help," CJ said, "No one is going to be hurting my baby sister."_

"_She's a lucky girl," Chuck said, sharing a look with his wife, "To have all these brothers to watch out for her."_

"_We're Basses," Ricky piped up, "We'll always stick together."_


	10. Chapter 10

Fitz was sitting in the hospital room he had been set up in, looking around with a hint of interest and disdain. There had been some sort of a mix up at the hospital and he had been placed in a regular room. Meaning it was not private. Meaning there was someone else staying in it.

Obviously, this was not acceptable.

The other occupant of the room was not currently there, so Fitz was taking in his surroundings while his mother berated whatever nurses or administrators that were necessary in order to get the situation corrected.

All of a sudden there was a knock in the doorway and he looked over to see a bald-headed girl who appeared to be around his age standing there with a wide grin, "Hi!" She said cheerfully, walking into the room and sitting down in the chair next to his bed, "You must be the new kid. I'm Rainer."

She stuck out her hand for Fitz to shake, but he just blinked at her before sighing, "Can I help you?" He asked with a note of condescension in his voice.

She looked confused and taken aback by his rudeness, "I just came to welcome you." She brightened up, determined not to be defused by his bad attitude, "I know it can be kind of frightening here. Is this your first round of treatment?"

Fitz looked her up and down for a moment before shaking his head ever so slightly. She shrugged, "Oh, well anyway, Dr. Scott is the best. He'll take care of you." She waved her hand absent-mindedly, "Apparently some billionaire brought him to this hospital when his son got sick and is paying for him to stay here until the kid has been in remission for five years," She shrugged, "I'm not sure how soon those five years will be up, but when it is, he is free to leave and then I don't know what it will mean for us."

"It would have been in less than a year," Fitz said quietly, "But lucky for you, he was just re-diagnosed."

"Really?" She asked, "How do you know that?"

He looked over at her with his lips quirked in a slight smirk, "My name is Sebastian Bass. Chuck Bass, one of the world's richest men, is my father."

Rainer's eyes widen, "You're the kid."

Fitz's smirk increased as he nodded his head, "I am."

"Well it's nice to meet you, Sebastian." She smiled back, offering her hand for him to shake.

He took it and said, "You can call me Fitz. Everyone else does."

"Okay, Fitz," She said, "Now that introductions are finally out of the way, I hope we can be friends, even if my family can't compare with the prestige that comes with being the son of Chuck Bass."

Fitz laughed and the two of them continued talking until the nurses came in to move Fitz into his private room.

…

Blair was walking down the hall at the hospital, heading towards Fitz's room to visit him. He had been in the hospital for a few days and she had been coming every day to spend time with him and keep him company. However, today she was a bit late because a committee meeting had run late and Chuck was already there with Lexie and Ricky.

She turned the corner and stopped dead in her tracks when she came face to face with Vanessa Abrams.

Vanessa immediately scowled, "What are you doing here?"

"I think I should be the one asking you that question," Blair said, "I actually live in this city. Was Hollywood as unresponsive to your pathetic little documentaries as New York was?"

"My daughter is here getting treatment," Vanessa said, causing Blair to take a step back and feel a sense of guilt for being so harsh, but it quickly disappeared as Vanessa continued, "And just because you and your legacy husband donate millions of dollars to this hospital, that doesn't give you the right to walk around here insulting the family of actual patients."

"Excuse me?" Blair reeled back in outrage, "You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about."

Right at that moment the sound of footsteps could be heard followed by a little girl's voice, "Mommy!"

Both women turned and looked in the direction that the voice had come from and saw Lexie running down the hall with a grin on her face. She didn't stop until she reached her mother, "Mommy, you're here! Fitz just woke up and is talking to Ricky about boy stuff so Daddy and I are going to get something from the cafeteria."

Blair scrunched up her nose in disgust, "Ew, why?" She said quietly to herself. She happened to glance over at Vanessa and noticed the wide-eyed shock on her face.

"You-, you're son is here, in the hospital?" She asked, clearly realizing her previous judgment had been a bit hasty.

Blair sighed, "Yes, he is being treated here, just like your daughter."

"Is he-, does he have the same father as her?" Vanessa asked, looking pointedly at Lexie before back at Blair.

Blair looked confused for a moment before her face cleared in understanding and she couldn't help but laugh, "Oh, you think-, you think I'm remarried? You think Chuck and I got divorced?"

"Well, look how young she is," Vanessa explained, "I assumed-"

"You assumed that she must have been the product of a second husband," Blair laughed again, "I hate to break it too you, Abrams, but Chuck and I never self-destructed like you hoped. We are still together and not that it is any of your business, but Alexandria here is the youngest of seven."

"But I'm not the baby anymore!" Lexie piped up.

Vanessa looked shocked at both the idea of seven children and Lexie's statement and turned to Blair for further explanation. Blair smiled condescendingly, "We just welcomed our first grandchild a few weeks ago."

"Oh, congratulations-" Vanessa's reply was cut off by the approach of someone else.

"Look Mom, its Daddy." Lexie said, tugging on Blair's hand so she would look behind her.

Blair turned and a big grin crossed her face before she kissed her husband, "Hi."

"Hello," He said before glancing over at Vanessa, "What is Brooklyn doing here?"

"Her daughter is here receiving treatment, like Sebastian."

Chuck looked over at Vanessa for a second than back at his wife, "Come on, Blair," He said, putting an arm around her waist, "He is waiting for us."

"Okay," Blair said, quickly following her husband, "Lexie, come here, sweetie."

"Bye!" Lexie said to Vanessa with a little wave before she rushed to catch up to her parents, leaving Vanessa standing there dumbfounded by the seemingly happy couple she had just witnessed in Chuck and Blair Bass.

…

Later that night, Blair was getting ready to turn in for the night when Chuck walked into their bedroom.

"So are you best friends with all the Humphreys now?" He asked with false disinterest as he loosened the buttons on his shirt sleeves.

Blair turned from her vanity to face him, "What?"

He looked up with a heated glare, "You were talking to Vanessa today. I can only assume her husband was also around somewhere."

Blair let out a biting laugh, "Is that what this is about? You're jealous, even after twenty four years of marriage and seven children you can't stop being a possessive ass."

"I am not jealous of Daniel Humphrey," Chuck growled, approaching her slowly, "Even I am not irrational enough to consider him a real threat."

"Good," Blair huffed, "Because, like I've told you multiple times, I never had any romantic feelings for Dan. We were friends, he developed a bit of a crush, and I made it clear that those feelings were completely one-sided."

"Then you will have no problem avoiding him at all costs."

Blair's eyes narrowed, "What is this about? Do you really hate him that much?"

Chuck clenched his jaw, "I am protecting my family."

"From a wash-up, mediocre writer born and raised in Brooklyn?" Blair asked in confusion.

"He has done nothing but use my family in order to further his own career." Chuck explained, "He used me, he used my father, he even used you. I will _not_ let him exploit my son for one of his pathetic little stories."

"Chuck," Blair sighed, standing up and approaching her husband, "He wouldn't-"

"Yes, he would," Chuck said, refusing to back down, "You know he would. Dan Humphrey has always been nothing if not self-righteous and proud."

"What's your point?"

"The only reason their daughter is able to get treatment here is because Jenny and Nate are footing the bill." Seeing Blair's shocked expression at this little tidbit of information, Chuck explained, "I did some investigating after your little run-in with Vanessa." He looked into Blair's eyes with complete seriousness and sincerity, "You know that if someone approached offering him money to pay their hospital bills in exchange for a story on the poor, sick Bass boy he would do it in a heartbeat so he didn't have to depend on his sister. You _know_ he would."

Blair continued to stare at him silently and finally Chuck shook his head, "Look, you can do what you want. I know better than to try and give you orders. But I am going to tell the boys not to speak with him under any circumstances."

"Okay." Blair said quietly.

"What?"

"You're right," She admitted, "It is in Sebastian's best interests to keep Dan, and Vanessa, as far away from him as possible."

Chuck stepped forward and placed his hands on her arms, "I'm sorry, Blair."

Blair looked up at him, "Why?"

"I know you two used to be close-"

"Yes, there was a time when Dan provided the kind of easy, drama-free friendship I needed, but that was in the past. I haven't spoken to him since his book came out, and I haven't missed him. Some writer from Brooklyn was never going to be a permanent fixture in my life."

Chuck leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "I love you."

She smiled softly, "I love you too. And our family, and this world that we've built for ourselves. We don't need any Humphreys invading it and causing trouble."


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: I was going to add another section (containing a Chuck/Dan confrontation) to the end of this, but just as I was finishing it, I decided to save it for next chapter along with a flashback. So, sorry for the delay, but be excited because that means the next chapter is already half-written!

…

"Hey, Kid," CJ said, walking into Fitz's hospital room, "How are you doing?"

Fitz looked over at him and shrugged, "Okay."

"Are you ready for the transplant this weekend?"

That was why CJ and his wife, Lauren, were in town. It had turned out that Ricky was the best match for Fitz, so in just two days all of the Bass boys would be donating their marrow.

Fitz nodded, "Yeah. I'm ready to go home for a bit."

CJ raised an eyebrow, "You mean forever, right?"

There was a moment of silence before Fitz shrugged again, "Hopefully."

His attitude worried CJ, but he decided to ignore it, instead choosing to pick up the laptop that was sitting nearby, "Hey, do you mind showing some of your pictures? I've been dying to see them."

Fitz brightened up a bit, "Sure. Bring that over here."

CJ brought the computer to his brother before he pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat down.

"So these are all portraits, right?" CJ asked.

Fitz nodded, "Yes, people and their expressions are so fascinating. But pretty much all of these are candids. I don't want to stage an emotion. I just try to capture them in the moment."

Fitz fired up the computer and opened up some of his latest photos. The first one he pulled up was of Blair. She was sitting completely poised and proper with a slight smile on her face as she was looking over some paper work in the living room of their penthouse. Over her shoulder, Chuck could be seen looking at her from the doorway with a mix of curiosity and amusement.

"Oh Mom," CJ grinned, "She's always perfect, isn't she?" Fitz laughed and CJ explained, "When I was growing up, I thought eventually I'd find her flaws, but even once I knew about some of her less finer points, I still can't help but see her as completely faultless."

Fitz nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she is great. I don't think I can imagine a better mom."

"And Dad just hanging out in the background is pretty perfect." CJ pointed out, "If he can't be right next to her, he is always lingering nearby like that."

Fitz grinned, "It kind of just worked out perfectly. I think he was actually looking at me and the camera and the whole situation, but it looks like he is staring right at her."

"I like it. It really fits them." CJ said, "Let's go to the next one."

Fitz clicked through to the next picture, which had been taken in his hospital room only a few weeks earlier. In the photo, Ricky was standing by the window with a devilish smirk on his face, looking quite proud with himself.

"Well, if that isn't the picture of trouble I don't know what is." CJ said with a chuckle.

"But you see," Fitz was quick to point out, "the way the light hits him give him an air of innocence and kind of lessens the wickedness of his expression."

CJ shook his head, "You're right, but he still looks too conniving for someone who is barely fourteen."

Fitz smirked, "This was when he came to tell me he had finally lost his virginity. To Allison Archibald."

"Of course," CJ sighed, "Though I can't really say that I am surprised. He can charm Ally into doing just about anything. He is going to break that poor girl's heart some day."

"Or she'll break his."

CJ just stared at his brother for a moment in awe of his perception. He hadn't even thought of the possibility that Ricky's feelings for the Archibald girl could be just as strong as hers were, but after Fitz pointed it out, he realized it very well could be true. He looked at the photo again and then back at his brother, "You're really good at reading people, aren't you?"

Fitz shrugged, "I guess."

"I mean, your photos somehow always manage to capture the essence of each person's character."

"Only for the given instant that I caught them," Fitz clarified. "People are way too complex for a single picture to show every facet of their personality. All I show is one single aspect at one moment in time."

"Okay, okay, Mr. Serious Photographer," CJ laughed, "Show me another."

The next picture came up and the air of playfulness instantly disappeared. The room was similar to the one they were currently in, but instead in the bed was a pale, thin girl with dark circles under her eyes and not a single hair on her head. She was obviously very sick, but there was a huge smile on her face and joy seemed to be radiating from her.

Finally, CJ managed to come up with some sort of response to the image before him, "She-, uh, she's not doing so well, is she Fitz?"

"She has good days and bad days. But, I mean, she knows it's not going to get better."

CJ's eyes widened, "The doctors told her that?"

"No, not really. But she knows the treatment isn't working like they had hoped. Plus, when you have gone through this as long as she has, you can tell when you are not getting any better."

CJ frowned, "But you-, you don't feel that way, right? You have the transplant coming up, and your chemo has been going well. Right?"

Fitz tried not to sound to exasperated with his brother's concern, "Yes, Rainer and I are in completely different situations. She is still putting up a fight and everything, mostly for the sake of her parents, but she knows it's not-, it's not looking good."

"I'm sorry, Bud," CJ said, "You, uh, you really care about her, don't you?" When Fitz nodded, CJ continued cautiously, "But you're-, you're being careful around her, right? I mean, with her father and all. You know Dad talked to her right?"

"Yeah, I know," Fitz answered bitterly, "I don't know why he has to be so paranoid. Just because her dad is a writer doesn't mean he is going to-"

"He has written about them before; Mom, Dad, even Grandpa Bart. He has written about them all. As far as Dad is concerned, any time Dan Humphrey tries to get close to his family it is for the purpose of getting some sort of story out of it."

"Well even if her dad would, Rainer wouldn't do that."

"Not on purpose," CJ said, "Like any reporter, Mr. Humphrey is a snoop. He doesn't exactly let people know he is using them as a source." He squeezed his brother's shoulder reassuringly, "Look, no one has anything against Rainer. She seems like a really nice girl; even Mom and Dad think so, despite who her parents are. They are just trying to protect you. They don't want your whole life splattered across the internet like theirs was."

Fitz sighed, "I know, you're right." He chuckled, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised that they would hold a grudge against someone who would try to tell the whole world all about the inner workings of their relationship, huh?"

CJ's lips quirked upwards slightly, "You know it." His expression became more serious, "But it's more than that. Mr. Humphrey used them. He exposed all of their most embarrassing and painful memories simply for his own profit. Can you blame Dad for not wanting that to happen again?"

"No," Fitz shook his head, "I really can't."

…

Lauren was waiting out in the hall while her husband spoke with his brother. She was leaning against a wall, giving her husband as much time as he needed when someone approached her.

"Excuse me?"

She turned around, "Yes, can I help you?"

"Are you-, are with the Basses?" The man asked.

"I am…" Lauren answered tentatively.

The shook his head and smiled, "I'm sorry, I just-, well, I know them rather well, and I don't recognize you." Lauren's brow knit together and the man quickly continued, "You must not be from the Upper Eastside."

Lauren shook her head, "Nope. I'm from Vermont."

"Oh really? My wife's family lives in Vermont."

Lauren sighed, "Let's drop the façade, Mr. Humphrey." The man looked taken back, and Lauren smiled with a hint of condescension (Blair had taught her well), "You really didn't think I was unaware of who are you, did you? I may not be from this world, but I'm not stupid. My husband and his family have done their best to make sure I understand how the Upper Eastside works. Are you really surprised that they warned me about you?"

Dan's eyes were wide as he stuttered, "I-, uh, I don't know what you're-, I'm not-"

Lauren rolled her eyes just as CJ emerged from Fitz's room and came over. "Hey Babe," He said before he kissed Lauren on the cheek and turned to look at who was with her, "Dan Humphrey. What are you doing here?"

Dan pointed behind him, "My daughter, she's here-, well, she's getting-"

"I know," CJ interrupted his stuttering explanation, "But why are you _here_, in this part of the wing, especially after my father spoke with you?"

Dan's jaw clenched, "I know your dad is used to throwing his money around in order to make people do what he wants, but contrary to what he believes, he does not own this hospital."

"Or so it seems," CJ smirked, "Look, Mr. Humphrey, I see what you were trying to do here. Target the one person in our family who wasn't born and raised in Manhattan's inner circle. Smart, but misguided. You would have been better off trying to get information from my naïve little sister." Seeing the slight raise of Dan's eyebrows, CJ quickly added, "But don't even think about attempting that. My father will have you deported for even looking at Lexie."

Dan shook his head, "I wasn't trying to-"

CJ's eyes narrowed, "Come on, Mr. Humphrey. You think you are being slick, but we all know what is going on here. Although, I must admit I am rather surprised. I thought you would know better than to ignore my father's threats."

Dan scowled, "I haven't had anything published in months. I'm here in New York, completely dependent on my little sister financially. What could Chuck possibly do to 'destroy me'?"

CJ ticked things off on his fingers, "He could make sure you, and your wife, never get work again. He could take your home. He could have your daughter transferred out of this hospital."

"Even he wouldn't do that." Dan said, though there was a hint of fear in his voice.

CJ shrugged, "No, probably not, but only because my brother has taken a liking to your daughter and my father feels that she can be trusted. However, if she were to betray that trust, he wouldn't hesitate to have her transferred, to the second best hospital of course."

The fear in Dan's eyes was growing. He knew his daughter wasn't in great shape and if there was any hope for her, she needed to remain in the care of Dr. Scott, "Look, my daughter hasn't done anything-"

"I know," CJ said, "But you have, or you are trying to. If my father knew, he would have you banned from this hospital so fast-"

"Please-"

CJ held up his hand to quiet Dan, "But I'm not going tell him. This time. Right now your daughter needs her parents. And if I so much as catch a glimpse of you anywhere near anyone in my family again, I will make sure my father handles it before you even have a chance to scurry back to your daughter's room."

Dan nodded, "Thank you."

"Good-bye, Mr. Humphrey. I don't expect to speak with you again."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: This became longer than I expected and wasn't really working out how I wanted. Sorry for the delay!

…

_Chuck and Blair were sitting in the hospital room with Fitz, eagerly waiting for the nurse to come in and finish the paperwork so Fitz would be able to go home for a few days. He was currently in between rounds of treatment and the doctor had cleared him to stay with his family for a little while._

_Chuck's phone started ringing and he scowled when he saw the name on the display, "What is it?" He answered gruffly. He listened as the person on the other end of the line spoke and he took a few strides over towards the window. He peered out of it and cursed, "Shit. They're already swarming. I'll call hospital security to get us out of here, and make sure they are prepared at our building." _

_Chuck hung up his phone and began massaging his temples. "Is everything alright?" Blair asked from the other side of the room, "Chuck, what is it?"_

_He looked back out the window and sighed, "The story broke."_

_Blair gasped, "I thought you said they would be able to keep it contained at least for another week."_

"_Well, apparently they couldn't," Chuck said, finally turning away from the window, "And someone saw us when we arrived this morning. There is a mob of reporters outside. They think you reacted poorly to the news and it is causing stress on the baby."_

"_What?" Blair scoffed, placing her hand over her stomach, "That is completely ridiculous!"_

"_Maybe, but it doesn't change the fact that there are dozens of reporters waiting outside to catch a glimpse of either one of us." Seeing the worried expression on his wife's face as she glanced at Fitz, Chuck continued, "I am having security brought in to help escort us to and from the car, but it is not going to be as smooth a transition as we had planned."_

_And he was right; their son's first trip home in weeks did not go anywhere near according to their plan. It was supposed to be a peaceful, joyous, family affair. Instead, because of some stupid, merit-less rumors, it was an occasion of fear and terror for Fitz._

_Chuck was positive he would never forget the death grip Fitz had on his shoulder as he held the boy in his arms on their trip from the hospital doors to their limo. He could feel Fitz's face scrunch up as he buried it against his neck. The security did their best to keep the reporters at bay but despite their and Chuck's efforts to shield the boy from the prying eyes, the ruckus created by the shouts and camera flashes could not be hidden._

_Once in the limo, Fitz refused to leave his father's arms. Chuck knew the boy was crying, despite his best efforts to appear brave and it only caused to increase his anger. He wanted to strangle each and every person who had been waiting outside that hospital for ruining this moment for his son. _

_Blair, sensing the tension in his body, reached over and placed her hand on his leg. "Relax," She commanded when Chuck finally looked at her. That was all she needed to say for him to understand. His temper wasn't going to make anything about this situation better. He needed to focus on getting Fitz past the crowd that would be waiting outside their building and settled back in their home._

_The security at their building was better, but the uproar from the press was still anything but peaceful. As soon as they were inside, Chuck went to take Fitz up to his room, hoping to give the boy a chance to calm down before being overwhelmed by his brothers._

"_Chuck," Blair called, checking to make sure her husband wasn't letting the paparazzi get to him._

_He looked back at her and nodded, "I know. Just give us a minute, okay?"_

_She agreed and made her way into the sitting room, where their other boys were waiting. "Mom," CJ said as soon as he saw his mother, "How-, uh, how are you doing?"_

_Blair took one look at his expression and the faces of his brothers and sighed, "What have you heard?"_

_CJ looked away, "At school there was talk that some woman, a former employee of Bass Industries, came forward claiming that she had an affair with Dad. Apparently she is suing him for firing her when it ended."_

_Blair raised an eyebrow, "And you believe this?"_

_CJ was quick to shake his head, "Of course not. Dad barely has time to sleep. When would he fit a mistress into his schedule?"_

_Blair smiled, "Good. You're father thinks there is something suspicious about her story. He was hoping his people could figure it out before she went to the press, but she moved a bit too quickly. Hopefully if we ignore them they will go away soon."_

"_Not likely." Hank said, looking up from the screen of his phone that he had just been checking, "Seeing you two leaving the hospital with Fitz has raised all sorts of new questions. It's all over the internet."_

"_Well they will just have to continue to speculate," Blair said resolutely, "Now come on, it is time for your brother's welcome home dinner."_

…

_As Fitz's time at home drew to a close, Chuck became more and more concerned about the ever increasing attention from the media. The cold shoulder from the Basses was doing little to discourage their interest in the family and Chuck knew that if he was going to make his son's trip back to the hospital easier than his departure he would have to do something quickly. _

_Chuck knew that under no circumstances would he allow his son's health struggles to become a story for the public. He had worked too hard to protect his children's privacy to just throw it away and volunteer information to the press. After discussing it with Blair, the two of them came up with a different solution. And while Blair was hesitant about it, Chuck convinced her that it really was the only way to protect Fitz._

_So the day before Fitz was set to go back and begin another round of treatment, Celia was sent down to serve as the Bass family spokesperson and speak with the mob of reporters that had once again gathered outside of their building._

_In the beginning she stuck strictly to the carefully structured script that had been prepared for her, making all of the reporters aware that Chuck would speak to them in two days and answer any and all questions they had about the lawsuit if, and only if, not a single one of them were seen the next day outside the Bass building or the hospital. _

"_If Mr. Bass or one of his associates catches even one glimpse of a camera or a notepad, the press conference is off and you won't have any of your questions answered." Celia made to walk back into the building, but stopped a faced the crowd again, "And one more thing," She added, "I know this job requires you people to be ruthless, but do you really have no shame? We are talking about a scared, sick little child, and Chuck has to bribe you with information in order to keep you away from him? Don't you have a heart?" At this point, Hank, who had been watching from the lobby of the building, came out and began to pull her away, but Celia had to get in one more word, "If you can't give Fitz this one moment of peace then you all are bigger monsters than I thought."_

_While they appreciated her message, neither Chuck or Blair were particularly thrilled with the way Celia veered from the script. As a family, they typically did not like to indulge in the whims of the media, and such emotional outbursts only served to encourage the press's hounding._

_But it worked. The next day Fitz returned to the hospital without any sort of disturbance. There was no one waiting for them outside their building and no one at the hospital. Celia's guilt-trip had helped, but in the end, the reporters had given the Basses their privacy because they wanted to find out all they could about the upcoming court case._

_And for that reason, the next day, after Fitz had been settled back in at the hospital, Chuck went out and spoke with the press. "Good morning," He began, with a slight smirk playing on his lips, "I would like to thank you all for cooperating yesterday, and as promised, I will be answering all the questions you may have about the ridiculous lawsuit that has been brought against me in a pathetic attempt to exploit my fortune."_

_The reporters immediately began shouting out questions, some even asking about Fitz. Without answering any of them, Chuck raised his hands in order to quiet the crowd, "I said I would answer questions about the case, _not_ about my son," He said, still appearing cool and collected but with a dangerous edge in his eye that showed how serious he was about this issue, "And before we get to your inquires, I would like to offer up a statement about the whole situation."_

_He took a deep breath and began to read from the paper he had brought with him, "Ms. Browning came to work for Bass Industries when my father was still in charge. He hired her as a flight attendant when she was just twenty years old. Ms. Browning has claimed that I carried on an affair with her and that it ultimately led to her termination from the company. Pretty much everything about Ms. Browning's story is false and I will make sure to provide you all with the pages and pages of complaints I have from co-workers and clients concerning her behavior which are what really brought about the need to let her go. However, there is one part of her story that does, technically, have a bit of truth to it." Chuck paused for dramatic effect, "A few weeks after Ms. Browning was hired by my father, I used the company jet to go on a vacation to Miami. Ms. Browning was an attractive, young woman and as you all know I had quite the reputation in my youth. So yes, we did sleep together." There were gasps from the crowd as Chuck looked up from his paper with a slightly mischievous look on his face, "I was fifteen. My team has managed to find security footage from my father's hotel that we stayed in which does prove that this incident occurred. Now I'm not sure what the expiration date on a crime like this would be, but I fully intend to have my lawyers look into it and when they do, I'm sure this little lawsuit will be the last thing on Ms. Browning's mind." _

_His full devil's grin emerged as he asked, "So, are there any questions?" _

…

When Dan and Vanessa left their daughter's room for the night later that evening, they were confronted by Chuck Bass right outside her door.

"I heard you had a minor run in with my son and his wife today." Chuck said darkly.

Vanessa looked at her husband in shock, "Dan, you didn't."

Dan sighed, "I thought he wasn't going to tell you."

"Yes, well, in the end he decided that wasn't in his brother's best interests."

"Chuck, please," Dan pleaded, "Be rational. My daughter-"

"Be rational?" Chuck spat, "You want me to be rational as you try to exploit my son for your own financial gain?"

Dan realized his poor choice of words and hastily changed course, "Chuck, I'm sorry. I didn't-"

"Save it, Humphrey." Chuck said, "I'm not going to have you kicked out, no matter how much I may want to."

Both Dan and Vanessa looked taken aback, "You're not?" They said in unison.

"No. My son made me see that your daughter needs the support of her parents right now, even if you were foolish enough to put your position here in jeopardy."

"Thank you." Vanessa said, but Chuck was not finished.

"Ah, but that does not mean there will not be consequences." He snapped his fingers and instantly three men appeared at his side. "I will allow you to be on the hospital grounds, but only with your daughter, or in the cafeteria if you would want to go there. Victor and Andre will escort you to Rainer's room when you arrive and accompany you throughout the day to make sure you don't wander. Lewis will be with my son at all times to make sure you don't get near him. Don't worry, they are the best. They are very discrete. You probably won't even see them. But if you happen to 'accidentally' run into any members of my family again they will quickly make their presence known."

Dan tried not to roll his eyes, "Don't you think you are being a little excessive?"

"No." Chuck said darkly, "Not that you would understand, but my children have been in the spotlight their entire lives, simply because of their last name. And Sebastian is different from the others. He is shy and uncomfortable with the attention and last time his hospital stay became a media circus because of something unrelated and completely outside of his control. If you were to write your little story things would get like that again, and my son does not deserve that. He is a sick child," Chuck said, jabbing his finger towards the ground to emphasize his point, "Just like your daughter, and he does not need to have his illness paraded out for the whole city to see just so you can make a quick buck and preserve some of your pride." Chuck glared at Dan, "Now my patience for you has just about run out, so for your own sake we had better not have another encounter like this, do you understand?"

"Don't worry, we won't." Dan said, but Chuck was already walking away, one of the guards he had hired following him while the other two remained to watch Dan and Vanessa.


	13. Chapter 13

Ricky's donation to Fitz went off without a hitch and the doctors were cautiously optimistic that it would be successful. All of the boys went in to give their donations on the same day and once they were done and released to go, Ed insisted on taking Emily, who was there for moral support, out for dinner.

Anne had been watching Tristan while they were at the hospital and after a quick phone call confirming that she could keep him for a few more hours, Ed and Emily were on their way, but not before a quick wink and smirk from Theo, which confused Emily and seemed to make Ed a bit nervous.

"Where are we going?" Emily asked once they were in the limo.

Ed had a mischievous twinkle in his eye when he looked over at her and answered, "You'll see."

A short while later the limo pulled up in front of a rather normal-looking bar. "What are we doing here?" Emily asked, since the establishment did appear to be a bit seedier than their usual dining locations.

"You mean you don't remember?" Ed teased before breaking out in a grin when she just stared at him blankly, "Come on, let's go in." He said, scooting over to the door and extending his hand out for her to follow. Emily was hesitant, but she took his hand and climbed out of the limo after him.

Once they were inside, Ed watched as Emily looked around the bar, her face scrunched up in disgust at the obviously low-class place they were going to be eating in. "So this doesn't ring a bell?" He finally asked.

Her brow furrowed and she shook her head, "It does seem vaguely familiar, but I have no idea why."

"I think I can help you," Ed said, pulling her further into the room. He gestured towards the bar they were standing next too, "Maybe if you got up here things will become a bit clearer."

Emily was shocked, "Edward Bass, I will _not_ be climbing up on some dirty bar! What are you thinking? Why in the world would that remind me of anything?"

"Because that is where you were when I first saw you here; right on top of this bar, dancing like I had never seen you before." Emily was looking at him with her mouth agape and Ed just smirked, "Do you remember now?"

Emily couldn't stop a small smile from creeping onto her face, "Vaguely. That was a pretty embarrassing night for me though. Why would you want to bring that up?"

Ed looked at the bar as he answered softly, "Because that was the first night I really saw you and I just knew that you were the perfect woman for me." He turned his gaze back to her with a look of pure tenderness and love, "I saw a different side of you that night; a side that made me realize just how strong my feelings for you were. I was always attracted to you, but seeing you so vulnerable made me want to hold you and protect you. Even though I may not have admitted it at the time, it was because I loved you, even then."

"And why are we here now?" Emily asked breathlessly.

"I needed to take you back to where it all began for me so that you could see how serious I am."

"About what?"

"About you, about us, about everything." He took her hand in his and slowly got down on one knee. Emily gasped and fanned her face with her other hand, trying not to cry. "Emily Vanderbilt," He said, looking up at her and pulling a ring out of his pocket, "I love you. Seeing you here last year made me realize I always did and I know now that I always will. And that is why I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Not because my brother is sick, and not because we have a son, although I love him very much. I want to marry you because I love you."

"Yes." Emily whispered as a few tears trailed down her face.

Ed stood up with a silly grin on his face, "I didn't even ask you yet."

"Shut up," Emily said while wrapping her arms around his neck, "I'm saying yes." She told him right before she pressed her lips to his.

…

In just a few short days Fitz was scheduled to go home from the hospital, hopefully for good this time. He was sitting in his room, sorting through some pictures on his laptop when he received an unexpected visitor. He looked up when his door opened and Ricky was standing there, still in his school uniform.

"Hey Fitz."

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

Ricky shrugged, "I just thought I'd stop by after school and see how you are doing. You're getting out of here soon, right?"

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, if I stay healthy and everything goes according to plan. Why, are you worried about me encroaching on your territory again?"

Ricky smirked, "Actually, it will be rather nice to have you back. I've been surrounded by babies and lovebirds. I need some reinforcements."

Fitz laughed before becoming more serious, "Look, Rick, I'm glad you came. I actually wanted to thank you, for what you did. I know we don't always get along and you didn't have to-"

"Stop." Ricky interrupted angrily, "I am so sick of everyone acting like I did such an unexpected, great thing."

"But you did-"

"No. I did what any of us would have done. You and I may fight and disagree and we might not have similar views on just about anything in life, but you are my brother. I don't know why you would think there was even a question about me doing this."

Fitz looked surprised before slowly nodding his head, "You're right. But I still want to thank you. It is because of you that I am going to be able to go home."

Ricky wanted to move on from the sentimental stuff, so he tried to change the subject with a little teasing, "I know you are excited to get out of here, but aren't you going to miss not having your girl around twenty-four, seven? It's going to make it that much harder for you to finally seal the deal."

Fitz tilted his head and smirked slightly, "You didn't know? I did that a while ago."

Fitz thought Ricky's eyes were going to pop out of his head, "What!" He exclaimed, "When did this happen? How did I not know?"

Fitz shrugged, "Like I said, it was a little while ago; after my transplant. I was feeling alright and Rainer was having a good day and we had been talking about it for a while, so it just kind of happened."

Ricky wiggled his eyebrows and nudged his brother, "And how was it? Pretty great, right?"

"I guess." Fitz said before giving in and returning Ricky's grin, "Yeah, it was kind of awesome. I'm really glad we got the chance to do it."

Both boys quieted as the full meaning of what Fitz had said sunk in. "You really care about her, don't you?" Ricky asked after a moment.

Fitz nodded, "Yeah, I really do. It's so hard to watch her getting sicker while I get better and better each day, you know? That is the worst part about going home: leaving her behind."

"It will get better, man." Ricky said, clapping his brother on the back.

"No it won't," Fitz said with a bitter laugh, "She is only going to get worse. But I guess that is what I get for falling in love in a cancer ward, huh?"

Ricky tried to smile, but he just couldn't, "I really am sorry, Fitz."

"Yeah, me too."


	14. Chapter 14

At the start of the spring semester, Emily had begun taking classes at Columbia. She and Ed had worked it out so that one of them could usually be home with Tristan while the other was in class. And on the rare occasions when they both had to be on campus, Blair had been extremely helpfully in making sure that either she or Dorota or someone would be there to watch Tristan.

Emily enjoyed being back in school, but it was hard for her to readjust to the social aspects that came along with it. Although she didn't have Ed to fall back on, since she rarely saw him, she still had Anne and she typically spent her time between classes with her cousin and her friends.

The girls were all nice and behaved similarly to how her minions had in high school, but Emily knew they wouldn't associate with her if it wasn't for Anne. She hadn't yet told them about Tristan, so they didn't understand why she never wanted to spend time with them off campus or on weekends. They did know about Ed, however, and they were under the impression that he was the one forbidding her to go out and monopolizing all her time.

They thought of Ed as a cold, angry guy who was nothing like his fun-loving brother. They believed that Emily was just with him because of his last name, but when they actually met him, they realized how wrong they were.

They were standing together on campus, talking about their weekend plans and the girls were trying to convince Emily to come out with them.

"Come on, Em, you can come out for us for just one night!" One of them said.

"Yeah, your fiancé can't keep you locked up all the time," said another.

Emily sighed, "I don't know ladies…" She was so busy trying to come up with an excuse that she didn't notice the girls' eyes widening or Anne rolling her eyes until she felt a pair of familiar arms wrap around her waist from behind.

"Fancy meeting you here, Beautiful," A husky voice that never failed to send chills down her spine whispered into her ear.

A huge grin spread across Emily's face as she spun around and pressed a kiss to Ed's lips, "What are you doing here?" She asked, "Why are you on this side of campus?"

Theo, who had walked over with Ed, answered before his brother could as he slung his arms over two of the girls' shoulders, "There is a lecture in the Economics building that our professor recommended we attend. And when we saw a group of such beautiful ladies just standing here, we couldn't help but approach."

The girls giggled, but Emily and Anne just rolled their eyes. Ed nuzzled his nose against Emily's hair and said, "Plus, I wanted to see you as much as possible before I leave tomorrow."

The girls perked up at this, "Oh, you're going away?" One of them asked.

"Just for the weekend," Theo said, "My brother and I are accompanying our father on a short business trip."

"Really? Well that is just perfect. Now you can come out with us tomorrow night, right Em?" The girl said, "You won't have any other plans?"

Emily hesitated, but Ed answered for her, "Of course she won't." She met his gaze with wide, questioning eyes and he just smiled in return, "You should go out. You don't get to spend enough time with your friends."

"But-"

Ed stopped her protest, placing a finger to his lips, "Don't worry about it. We will work it out."

The girls were confused by this, but quickly got distracted when they noticed Anne and Theo engaged in a quiet, but heated conversation a few feet away.

"Leave me alone, Bass" Anne hissed, "I thought by completely ignoring your many attempts at seduction that I made it clear; I want nothing to do with you."

"Why, because of your new little boyfriend?" Theo sneered, "Please, we both know he is just a way to keep your parents off your back and a convenient lay for you, though a mediocre one at best." He leaned in closer and whispered sensually in her ear, "But I could be both of those things for you, and you know as well as I do that I would be much better at it than him."

Anne quirked an eyebrow dubiously, "You want to be my boyfriend? I didn't think commitment was your thing."

"Maybe I've changed."

Anne took a step away from him and crossed her arms over her chest, "I heard about your party last week. Alcohol, drugs, more than a handful of prostitutes." She slowly shook her head, "You're not ready for monogamy. Not even close."

Theo's jaw clenched, "And you think you are? I know you, Archibald. You enjoy a good time as much as anyone. You're not ready to settle down."

"You don't know anything about me." Anne snapped.

Theo smirked, "Au contraire, Blondie. I think I know you _quite_ well. In fact-"

"Theo," Ed interrupted before his brother caused Anne to completely lose it, "We better get going. We don't want to be late to the lecture."

"Fine," Theo said before turning back to Anne, "We'll finish this discussion later," He told her as he ran his finger along her jaw.

She quickly slapped it away and glared at him, "In your dreams, Bass."

"Yes, you are," Theo said, "But they usually go beyond just talking."

Before Anne could respond, Theo began to walk off, with Ed following after he had kissed Emily good-bye, "Nice talking to you, ladies," Theo called over his shoulder, "Hopefully we will run into each other again soon."

…

The next day after Emily's last class of the week, she was planning on going out with the girls since Blair had agreed to watch Tristan for the evening at Ed's request. All the girls were planning on getting ready together at Anne's apartment, so Emily invited them to come over to the Bass's while she grabbed her outfit and stuff.

The doors to the elevator opened in the penthouse and the girls looked around in amazement, "Wow, I can't believe you live with the Basses." One exclaimed.

"Yeah," said another, "This place is amazing!"

Emily shrugged, "Like I said, when my parents moved to DC, the Basses offered to let me live with them so I could finish my senior year here with my friends."

They all walked a bit further into the penthouse before they heard someone coming from the second floor, "You hear that kid? It sounds like your mom is home."

All the girls looked up and saw Ed walking down the stairs with a dark haired baby boy in his arms. He was smiling down at the boy and bouncing him slightly in his arms causing the child to giggle, but when Ed looked up and saw his audience his smile instantly vanished, "Hello…" He said slowly, looking at each of the girls before his eyes locked on Emily with a hint of panic behind them.

But Emily had a large grin on her face as she walked forward and kissed Ed on the cheek, "Hey, Bass," she said before tickling the baby's stomach and offering out her hands so Ed could place him in her arms, "And hello, my favorite little man. I missed you all day!"

"I'm sorry," Ed said softly as he handed Tristan over, "I had no idea they were coming over here with you."

Emily just shook her head with her smile still in place, "It's totally fine, Ed. Really." She turned around to face her friends with Tristan in her arms, "Girls, I'd like you to meet Tristan, my son." She looked back at Ed before correcting herself, "Our son."

Their eyes widened and for a moment the girls had nothing to say. "Wow, uh, we didn't know you had a baby." One of them finally managed.

Emily laughed, "I know. We've kept it pretty quiet. But this is the reason I deferred for a semester. I wasn't traveling or anything like that. I was being a mom."

The girls were still pretty quiet, obviously in shock, until Ann decided to break the tension, "Let me hold my godson. It's been forever since I've seen him!" She lifted Tristan out of Emily's arms and took him back over towards the girls, "And I need to show him off to all my friends!"

Emily laughed at her enthusiasm and while the girls were distracted by Anne and the baby, Ed put his hand on her back to get her attention, "Hey, look, I really am sorry. If I had known they were here-"

Emily frowned slightly, "I told you, it doesn't matter. I _wanted_ them to know."

Ed looked confused, "You did?"

"Yes! I may have hidden my pregnancy, but I am _not_ going to make my son into some kind of secret. I would never want him to grow up thinking I am ashamed of him."

"He would never think that." Ed reassured her.

"I know that, because I'm not. And if these girls really want to be my friends they need to know what my life is really like."

Ed leaned forward and kissed her forehead, "You're amazing."

While this was going on, the elevator had arrived once again, carrying both Theo and Chuck. Chuck politely greeted the group as a whole before quickly escaping to the second floor, undoubtedly to find Blair and say his good-byes.

Theo, however, had begun smirking the minute he saw the group of girls gathered in the penthouse. "Well hello, ladies," He said as he approached, "Lovely seeing you all here tonight. Come to see us off?"

Anne rolled her eyes, "You wish, Bass."

"No, what I wish is that you were coming along to entertain me, keep the bed warm while I am in meetings all day, and help me renew my membership to the Mile High Club, amongst other dirty, dirty things." Theo said, running his hand down her side before Anne jerked away with a scowl.

"Do you have to be so disgusting?" Anne said, "I'm holding your nephew."

Theo shrugged, "I'm teaching him young. And you never minded my lechery before."

"Okay, that's enough you two," Emily said walking over towards them, "Let me take my son before you scar him any further with your bickering." She took Tristan from Anne and smiled down at him, "He gets enough of that as it is around here."

She looked up and stuck her tongue out at Ed who winked back at her, "Love you too, Vanderbilt."

The young people continued to talk together and fawn over the baby until Chuck and Blair emerged from the second floor. "Edward, Theodore, I think it is time we get going." Chuck said almost reluctantly.

Chuck hated business trips, which came as a surprise to most people, since his company required a great deal of travel. But anyone who had worked closely with Chuck knew that he loathed being separated from his wife and family overnight. He always tried to keep the trips as short as possible and the longer he was away from home, the worse his mood tended to be. That is why he had taken to bringing his sons along with him, once they were old enough to appreciate the business and contribute to the meetings. Blair had thought it might help make him a bit more tolerable when they were separated.

Chuck kissed his wife and gave her hand a squeeze before he straightened out his jacket and walked towards the elevator, "Come on, boys, the limo is waiting."

Ed said his good-byes to Emily and Tristan while Theo just smirked at the other girls, "Try not to miss me too much, ladies." He said before stepping onto the elevator after his father and brother.

…

A/N: No, I haven't completely forgotten about Fitz. He'll be back; possibly as soon as next chapter. And I tried to throw in a smidgen of Chuck and Blair for you all, since they have been absent for the last few chapters.

Also, you can thank Kadlin for the vast amount of the wonderful Theo in this chapter! Isn't he adorable?


	15. Chapter 15

_It was late by the time Chuck finally arrived home. He found CJ and Hank sitting in the kitchen, talking about something or other that was going on at school_

"_Where is your mother?" He asked them._

_The boys became somber when they saw their father. "She's upstairs putting Lexie to back to sleep." CJ told him, "Dad, how are you? Is everything alright?"_

"_We'll talk about it tomorrow," Chuck called over his shoulder as he strode over to the stairs._

_He ran into Blair just as she shut the door to the nursery. "Chuck," She gasped when she saw him, before she asked him the question with her eyes._

_He just shook his head, "An hour ago, she-" He paused to press his lips together and compose himself, "We were all there for her when she-"_

_Blair moved forward and pulled him close, "Shh, it's alright," She comforted him, "Lily put up a strong fight. She's finally out of pain."They stood together for a while like that until Blair asked almost hesitantly, "You-, you said you were all there?"_

_Chuck nodded against her neck, "Serena made it an hour or two before she lost consciousness. She got her chance to say good-bye."_

"_Good," Blair said, "I know she would have regretted it if she was too late." She moved away from him and placed her hands on his face, "And what about you? Today must have been hard for you, to sit there and watch…"_

_Chuck swallowed before nodding slowly, "Of course, but it was necessary. Lily was the only mother I ever had. As difficult as it was, I needed to be there for her."_

_Blair leaned closer and pressed her forehead to his, "Well I'm sorry I wasn't there for _you_. I couldn't stop thinking about you the whole day."_

"_It's alright," Chuck told her, "Alexandria isn't even a month old. You were needed here, with her and the other children."_

_Blair sighed, "I still wish I could have been with you…"_

_Chuck kissed her forehead, "You're always with me."_

_Blair smiled up at him and even though his return smirk was half-hearted at best, she felt relieved. Last time Chuck had lost a parent, he had completely spiraled. And though she knew he was hurting, he would get through this intact. _They_ would get through this, together. _

…

_The funeral was a lavish affair, just as Lily would have wanted. All of New York's elite society was present to pay their respects to the late Mrs. Humphrey. Even though she had been sick for quite some time, it was still difficult for her family to believe she was gone. _

_Rufus and Eric held themselves together best, accepting condolences and even going up and speaking during the service. Serena, however, was a mess, sobbing loudly the whole time with her mascara running down her face. Her daughter, Celia, was holding her hand and trying her best to help, but Serena was inconsolable. _

_And Chuck, well, Chuck was trying his best to appear composed when inside he was falling apart. He wished he could openly cry like his step-sister, but he had an image to maintain and children that were looking up to him. _

_He was able to hold it together for the entire service and the burial, mostly by avoiding all unnecessary contact and communication with the guests, but as soon as the Basses arrived home he escaped to his bedroom. And once she was sure the children were settled, Blair joined him. She crawled into the bed next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Are you okay?" She asked._

"_I will be," He whispered into her hair, "As long as I have you, and the kids, I will be."_

…

The business trip was a typical one for Chuck: long, boring, and just a general annoyance. He enjoyed spending the additional time with his sons, but by the end of the weekend he was ready to get back to Blair and his other children.

He had to make a quick stop at the office after the airport, so when he arrived home later that evening he was even more eager to see his wife. He walked into the apartment and called out teasingly, "Honey, I'm home!" But all thoughts of joking quickly left his mind when he saw the worried expression on Blair's face. "What's wrong?" He asked, "Is everything alright?"

Blair shook her head, "Nate called me a few hours ago. Rainer passed away this morning."

Chuck closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, "And Sebastian?"

"I haven't told him yet," Blair said, "I was waiting for you." Chuck looked at her slightly panicked and Blair just shrugged, "You always understand him."

Chuck nodded wearily, "Is he here?"

"Yes," Blair said breathlessly, "You'll come with me?"

"Of course," He said, "We have to tell him and its better we do it together; he'll need the extra support." He extended his hand towards her, "Come on."

The worry remained clear on Blair's face, but she laced her fingers through his and followed him up the stairs.

Chuck knocked on Fitz's door, "Son, can we come in?"

Fitz called out his consent, so Chuck opened the door and he and Blair walked in. Fitz was sitting at his desk, busy on his laptop editing photos. He stopped, however, when his parents sat on the edge of his bed and he turned to face them, "Hey, what's going on?" He looked at his parents' serious expressions and frowned, "Is something wrong?"

Chuck sighed and Blair squeezed his hand, letting him know that she would tell him.

"Sweetie, your Uncle Nate called earlier today and he-, uh, he-,"

"Mom, just say it," Fitz told her, noticing his mother's struggle and sensing that it was going to be something bad.

Blair's eyes met his and she could tell that he already knew what she was going to say. She shook her head sadly, "The doctors tried everything they could to bring her back, but there was nothing-"

Fitz snapped his laptop shut before she could finish and grabbed his bag, "I'm going out."

He was almost to the door when Chuck called out to stop him, "Sebastian," Fitz paused and Chuck continued, "Son, I know you're upset, but you can't just run away from this. It won't make it better."

Fitz clenched his jaw in a way that really brought out his resemblance to Bart, "I know." He said, "But I need-, I just need to go."

He walked out of the room and when Blair made a move to go after him, Chuck stopped her. "Let him go," He said, "Give him some time to sort things out."

"But-"

"The driver will keep an eye on him and I'll go find him after he has had some time to process this. Trust me."

"Okay," Blair nodded before laying her head on his shoulder, "Your right. I just wish there was more I could do…"

Chuck kissed the top of her head, "I know. He'll get through this. We'll get him through this."

….

A/N: Sorry this is so short! I'm moving tomorrow and wanted to update before that since it might be a little while before I can update again. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Sorry this is another short chapter. The next one should be much longer and happier! Please take the time to review and I hope you enjoy!

…

When Chuck found Fitz a few hours later, he was sitting in a park a few blocks from the hospital fiddling with his camera. He stopped about a foot from the bench Fitz was seated on, "Did you take any good shots with that thing?"

Fitz turned, saw him, and then looked back down at the camera, "Not today. I can't seem to focus. Rainer always loved pictures from here. It was her favorite place in the city."

Chuck moved forward and took a seat next to his son, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," Fitz said, "But I guess it's unavoidable, huh?"

Chuck sighed, "I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what you are going through-,"

"Because you don't."

"No," Chuck conceded, "There have been many times I lost your mother, but never like this. But I've dealt with my fair share of death. And I know how Bass men mourn, and it usually isn't in the healthiest ways." He looked over at Fitz, "I don't want you to go down that path."

"I want to get out," Fitz said softly, "I want to leave and just get away from everything that reminds me of her."

"Son, I know that seems easiest right now, but-"

"And I want to stay," Fitz continued as if he hadn't heard Chuck, "I want to stay right here, in this place where every single things screams of her presence. It's-, it's like I want to forget her and this pain she's causing me, but I want to keep thinking of her and preserve every single memory I have of her at the same time."

Chuck wasn't completely sure how to proceed, so he answered slowly, "Sebastian, I understand this is a difficult time for you, and I know all you want to do is be alone with your grief, but you can't close yourself off." Chuck sighed, "Trust me. I would know. Running away and shutting out those who care about you won't make this any easier for you."

Fitz's jaw clenched, "But it feels like it will."

"I know." Chuck said, "I know it does. But it won't. You'll just end up hurting yourself, your mother, me; everyone who loves you. And it won't solve anything. At the end of the day, that pain will still be there."

"Then how do I keep going? How do I make the pain stop?"

Chuck's heart broke at his son suffering. He swallowed the lump in his throat and answered, "Do the things that you love. Be with the people that you love. You make yourself happy and that pain fades away. It still flairs up occasionally, with certain days; certain memories, but you can get through it. You can move on and be happy."

Fitz looked at him with a sense of panic in his eyes, "But I don't want to forget her."

"You won't," Chuck assured him, "You never forget the ones that you really love."

Fitz nodded and the pair sat in silence for a moment. Fitz was looking down at his hands when he finally spoke, "Uncle Nate texted me earlier, they're having the funeral in California a few days from now. Will you go with me?"

Chuck's jaw clenched. He had always hated the entire Humphrey family, but his broken, hurting son was asking him for this one, simple piece of comfort and Chuck could never deny him that. "Of course," He said, "Of course I'll go with you."

…

When they arrived back home, Blair tried to talk to Fitz, but he immediately escaped up to his room. Blair turned to Chuck, worry written clear across her face and he just shook his head, "He'll be fine. He just needs some time."

"But I don't want him to close himself off. You don't think he'll-"

"React like I did?" Chuck asked, "No, I hope-, I _think_ he'll get through this in better shape than I ever did."

Blair placed her hand on his arm, "Thank you for talking to him. I knew you would be able to help him through this."

"I'm trying Blair," Chuck said softly, "I really am."

…

The funeral was a small, private affair. Rainer didn't know a vast amount of people, since she spent the majority of her life in and out of hospitals, and Dan and Vanessa only had a few close friends and family that came out to pay their respects.

As much as Chuck wanted to slip in the back when the service began and leave as soon as the last word was spoken, he was there for Fitz, so they sat only a few seats back from the family and were one of the last ones to leave the grave site. Fitz sat tall and still as a statue until about halfway through the service, when Chuck looked over and saw his head dip and his eyes shining with unshed tears.

Chuck put his arm around him and squeezed his shoulder. Fitz took a few shaky breaths and pressed his fingers to his eyes before he was once again able to sit up straight until the end of the service.

At the cemetery, after the funeral was over, Dan approached Chuck and Fitz standing a few yards away from the grave site, "Hey, Sebastian!"

Chuck immediately sent him a warning glare and a snarl, but Dan held his hands up in surrender, "I know we don't have the best history, but I just wanted to thank you for being such a great friend to Rainer. Especially in these last few hard months, you were the best thing that could have happened to her."

Fitz smiled slightly and his voice cracked a bit when he spoke, "She was an amazing girl."

Dan nodded, "I think you are one of the few people she actually would have wanted here to see her off. Thank you for making the trip."

"I wouldn't miss it," Fitz said softly before looking to his father, who had been standing by stonily, "Dad, I'm going to say good-bye, okay?"

Chuck nodded, "Of course. Take your time."

Fitz walked back towards the grave and Chuck and Dan were left standing together.

"Chuck," Dan began timidly, "I'm sorry, about everything before-"

"It's in the past," Chuck interrupted, "And after all of this I trust you would never attempt it again."

They stood in silence for a bit before Chuck continued, "I wanted to pass along my condolences to you and Vanessa. No one, even you, deserves to go through what you are right now."

"Everyone can't have the luck of the Basses." Dan said with a mixture of sarcasm and bitterness. Chuck glanced over at him and noticed that Dan was also watching Fitz.

"Every time I look at him I thank whatever God is up there that he is still here." Chuck said, not taking his eyes off of his son, "I'm sure the pain you are feeling now is only a fraction of what I had imagined it would be."

"I understand now," Dan told him, "Why you reacted how you did when Bart had his accident. Why you ran away. I get it now." The two men had seemed to come to an understanding and Dan continued, "Cherish every moment with him. You really are lucky."

"I always do." Chuck said before he gave Dan a nod and walked over to join his son.


	17. Chapter 17

As the school year was drawing to a close, the Bass Penthouse was in a flurry with plans for Ed and Emily's upcoming nuptials. Since Emily's family was mostly out of the picture, Blair had taken on the role of wedding planner and she was taking it very seriously.

"Now you're sure you don't want to try and contact your parents? I'm sure they have heard about the wedding. We can still give them a call…" Blair said gently.

"No." Emily insisted, "My mother won't change her mind. They won't come and I would rather not have them reject me straight to my face once again."

"But don't you want your father-"

"No." Emily paused and corrected herself, "I mean, yes, I would _love_ to have my father walk me down the aisle. But that isn't possible and Will is more than happy to serve as a replacement."

Blair gave her a serious look, "You're sure this is what you want to do?"

Emily nodded, "Positive." But even though she tried to hide it, Blair saw the flash in her eyes and knew that deep down Emily was lying to herself.

"Okay," Blair said, "If that's what you want."

…

The day of Ed and Emily's wedding dawned bright and sunny. It was the perfect day for a wedding.

Tristan was with his father and the rest of the men, so Emily was able to get ready with Anne and her other bridesmaids without the added worry. Once they helped her get into her dress, she stood in front of the full-length mirror and they all gasped at the final product.

"Em, you look absolutely stunning." Anne said, "Ed won't be able to control himself when he sees you."

Emily laughed, "Well he'd better. I will not have him or anyone else ruining my ceremony."

"Who is that beautiful woman?" A voice called from the doorway, "She can't be my baby sister, can she?"

Emily blushed, "Hey Will."

"Emmy," Will said, walking over and giving her a kiss on the cheek, "You look amazing. That Bass kid is one lucky guy."

Anne looked over at the clock, "Is it really already time to get this show on the road?"

"Yup," Will nodded, "That's why I'm here; to collect the bride and escort her to her eagerly waiting groom." He offered his arm to his sister, "Shall we?"

As the bridesmaids began to filter out, Emily slipped her arm through his, "Yes, we shall."

But before they could leave the room, someone else came in. "Excuse me; I think you're taking my job."

Both Will and Emily's mouths dropped open, "Daddy," Emily gasped, "What are you doing here?"

Trip grinned, "Did you really think I'd miss the wedding of my one and only daughter?"

Emily shook her head, "But you and-, and Mom-, and last year-,"

"It's in the past." Trip said, "You know I never fully agreed with what your mother did and I would never let her keep me from this. I'm sorry for the way everything happened. Please, let me do my fatherly duty and escort you to your new husband."

Emily had tears in her eyes as she grinned and nodded her head, "Yes," She agreed before moving forward and embracing Trip, "Thank you, Daddy, thank you for coming."

…

Although Ed's jaw dropped and he completely lost his breath when Emily walked down the aisle, he was able to control himself and the wedding ceremony went off without a hitch. Once they were in the limo, however, well, that was a different story.

"Have I ever told you how fucking beautiful you are, Mrs. Bass?" Ed asked as he trailed kisses down her neck once they were on their way to the reception.

"Mmm," She moaned, "Tell me again."

"God," He sighed, pushing her further into the seat, "It's lovely, but I can't wait to get you out of this thing."

Those words snapped Emily out of her daze and pressed her hands to his chest, "Whoa there, tiger." She said playfully, "We still have a party to go to."

Ed pressed his face to the side of her neck and growled, "Fuck that. We can be late."

Emily laughed and pushed him away more strongly, "No, we can't. Everyone will be waiting for us and _everyone_ will know what we were doing."

"So? We're newlyweds. This is what we are supposed to be doing."

Emily giggled, but still resisted when he tried to continue what he had been doing just a few moments earlier. "Fuck, Em," He groaned, "You're killing me."

"Just a few more hours," She promised, "And then you will have me all to yourself for two weeks and you will be able to do anything you want to me."

Ed raised an eyebrow and a small smirk formed on his face, "Anything?"

Emily bit her lip coyly and tilted her head, "Anything."

…

"Daddy, look at me!" Lexie exclaimed as Will Vanderbilt twirled her around on the dance floor past her parents. There was a dance strictly for couples and Lexie had been sitting on the sidelines with a frown on her face while her parents and siblings danced with their partners.

Blair had noticed, and just when she was going to send Chuck to take her as her partner, Will went over and offered Lexie his hand. Lexie, of course, had been thrilled. Will always danced with her at her brothers' weddings and he always made her feel like a princess.

As the maid of honor and best man, Anne and Theo were paired up to dance together, despite Anne's protests.

"You look absolutely stunning in that dress," Theo whispered into her ear, "None of the other bridesmaids even come close to you."

Anne rolled her eyes, "Stop trying to use your charms on me, Bass. It won't work."

"Ah, yes, I forgot about your latest boy-toy," Theo said sarcastically, "And how is he doing? I'm not even going to bother with his name. I'm sure he'll be gone in a few weeks."

"He's great," Anne said, ignoring he last statement, "though I'm sure he would be a lot better if I was in his arms right now instead of stuck here in yours."

Theo leaned in closely, "But we all know you would much rather be here. Don't even try to deny it."

Anne tried to scowl, but it was half-hearted at best, "When are you going to give up?"

"When are you going to admit that it was never just sex between us?"

Anne pressed her lips together and stared at him before she finally answered, "You and I don't do commitment. We never have. But we've always had our fun. Stop trying to act like it was ever anything more."

She walked away, even though the song wasn't over, unable to continue pretending with him any longer.

Emily had a big smile on her face as Ed danced with her in between the other couples a few feet away, "Today could not be more perfect." She said as she pressed her forehead against his.

"Oh, it will get more perfect. Tonight, when we are alone in our hotel room."

"I can't wait." She whispered before she gave him a lingering kiss. They broke apart, however when a cry broke out from one of the nearby tables.

Eleanor was holding Tristan, who was struggling against her grip, trying to get to his parents. Emily turned in Ed's arms and held out her hands, gesturing for Eleanor to let the boy go. As soon as she set him on the ground, Tristan began to toddle across the floor as fast as his chubby little legs would take him.

He almost lost his balance a few times, but once he was close, Emily stepped forward and scooped him up, "Hi baby," She said before she kissed his cheek, "Do you want to dance with mommy and daddy?"

She laughed when Tristan giggled, but it quickly faded when she saw Ed's angry expression, "What's wrong?" She asked him, "Is everything alright?"

He nodded to a spot over her shoulder and when she turned around, her eyes widened. Her mother had just entered the banquet hall and was looking around timidly. Although her father had shown up for the ceremony and was currently seated at one of the tables here, she couldn't believe that her mother had also made an appearance and she was worried about what exactly Maureen's intentions were.

"Here, take him." Emily said as she handed Tristan over to Ed, "I'll go see what she wants."

Emily approached Maureen with a cold mask on her face, "Mom, what are you doing here?"

"Emily," Maureen said stiffly, "You look beautiful."

"Thanks," Emily said as she crossed her arms over her chest, "I'm surprised to see you here."

Maureen sighed, "Darling, I know we didn't leave things on the best of terms…"

"Mom you kicked me out of your house and disowned me because I wouldn't kill my baby."

"I know," Maureen looked down awkwardly, "And maybe-, maybe I overreacted a bit. But I was just trying-"

"What?" Emily broke in angrily, "To protect me?" Emily shook her head, "You said keeping Tristan and being with Ed would worst decision I ever made. You couldn't have been more wrong. It was the best thing I've ever done."

"I'm sorry for my past mistakes," Maureen said, "I was just doing what thought was best for you. As a mother, you should understand that. As ill-founded as they may have been, I had my reasons for what I did. But I can see now that I made some miscalculations."

Emily followed her gaze back to the dance floor, where Ed was still with Tristan, tossing him slightly and making the boy burst with giggles.

"He looks just like him." Maureen said.

Emily smiled to herself, "Yeah, I guess I underestimated how strong the Bass genes are."

"And he's a good father?"

Emily could hear the genuine concern in her mother's voice, "The best." She said, with a simple shrug of her shoulders, "I couldn't ask for more from him. He's been perfect."

Maureen nodded, "Good. You deserve someone who treats you right. Everyone at that ceremony today could tell he absolutely adores you. Don't take that for granted."

Emily was shocked at the sincerity and forlornness of her mother, but before she could come up with a response, Ed came up and wrapped the arm that wasn't holding Tristan around her waist, "Hey Mrs. Bass, they are calling for us to cut the cake."

Emily kissed his cheek and took Tristan from him, "Okay. Here, Mom, do you want to hold your grandson while we do it? Otherwise he's just going to end up covered in frosting."

Maureen's eyes widened, "Me?" She asked, "Are you sure?"

"Positive," Emily told her has she handed over the boy, "I think you two have some catching up to do."

As they walked away, Ed glanced over his shoulder and saw Maureen actually smiling as Tristan gave her one of his toothy grins. "That was very nice of you," He said to his wife, pulling her closer to his side, "All is forgiven?"

"Not quite," Emily said, "But I think we are making progress. And if anyone is going to make her see how wrong she was, it's Tristan."

Ed smirked as he took one last look behind them, "He'll have her wrapped around his finger in an hour. Or less."

…

A/N: Ah, okay, I'm not completely sure about the next chapter, but we might be jumping ahead a bit in time. And there might be another wedding coming up in that future. Possibly. I have to think about it. Please review!


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Sorry it has taken me so long to update. Real life has gotten in the way. But this chapter is longer! And I did to the time jump. It is about four years in the future, so keep that in mind. I can clear up any age questions/confusion if needed.

…

Chuck got home a bit earlier than usual. Ever since CJ had finished graduate school and joined the company, Chuck had been working less hours and he had even arranged it so that he could pick Lexie up every day from school.

But on this particular afternoon, Lexie had insisted on walking home with some friends, so Chuck arrived at the Bass penthouse ahead of schedule.

"Hello, Darling," He said when he found Blair sitting in the front room. He sat down next to her and kissed her cheek, "How was your day?"

"Better then my weekend will be; that is for sure." She quickly shook her head and placed a smile on her face, "How about you? CJ is still adjusting nicely to the head position?"

"He is. He really has a good head for business." Chuck answered, but he didn't allow her earlier comment to be forgotten. He rubbed his hand over her knee, "Now what could possibly have you so stressed out? Sebastian comes home from Europe this evening, we have already received word from St. Jude's that Fredrick will officially be graduating, and all the children are doing well. What do you have to worry about?"

Before Blair could answer, the elevator arrived and Lexie entered the apartment. Seeing her parents sitting so close together and with Chuck's hand so far up Blair's leg, Lexie simply rolled her eyes, "Get a room," She muttered as she walked past them.

"I already own every room in this apartment and I will do in them as I please," Chuck called out sternly.

When Lexie turned around to acknowledge him and offer an apology, a slow smirk appeared on his face and she rolled her eyes again at his teasing.

"Is this how it is now?" He said when she made a move to leave, "First you won't let me pick you up from school, and then you don't even greet me when you come home?"

Lexie tried to appear disgruntled as she walked back over towards her parents, but even she couldn't suppress the grin on her face before she wrapped her hands around her dad's neck and he kissed her cheek.

"That's better," Chuck said with a satisfied smirk, "Now tell me about your day. How was school?"

"Boring, as usual," Lexie said with a sigh, "I can't wait until these next few weeks are over so I can finally be done with these children. I am _so _ready for junior high. It is where I belong."

Chuck frowned, "I don't know if I like this kind of talk. You are not old enough for junior high."

"Daddy," Lexie said, tossing her hair over her shoulder, "I am _way_ too advanced for another year of elementary school. I need some sort of a challenge."

Chuck ran his hand over her hair, "You were born to be queen, weren't you?"

"Of course, Daddy," She said as she skipped over to the door, "I'm a Bass."

She left and Blair couldn't help but laugh at the serious expression on her husband's face, "You know she had to grow up eventually." She told him.

Chuck shook his head, "Not her. She was supposed to be my little princess forever."

Blair shook her head at his ridiculousness, "Why don't you stop worrying about her and focus your energy on your sons."

Chuck raised an eyebrow, "So that is what was on your mind when I came home."

"You are aware of what is happening this weekend, right?"

Chuck pinched the bridge of his nose, "Remind me."

"Well first of all, as you mention, Sebastian should be arriving home from Europe in a few hours."

Chuck was confused, "I don't see the problem."

Blair sighed, "When I spoke with him on the phone a few days ago, there was something in his voice that made me concerned."

"You think he is in trouble?"

"No, not in trouble," Blair quickly shook her head, "I just-, I don't know. I just think he might be delaying his acceptance at Princeton a little longer."

"Well we will deal with that when it comes," He reached out and squeezed her knee, "What else is bothering you?"

"Tomorrow," Blair stated. And when Chuck just looked at her expectantly she added, "Anne Archibald's wedding."

Chuck nodded in understanding, "You are worried about Theodore."

"And Fredrick."

"Fredrick?" Chuck asked, "I didn't think Anne was the Archibald girl he had his heart set on."

Blair gave him a look, "She's not. But Allison will be there with that boyfriend of hers; the one that Fredrick can't stand."

"So you're expecting drama?"

"To say the least. It's going to be tough keeping both of those boys in check, especially when there is an open bar."

…

_Blair was just about to crawl into bed when there was a knock on her door. "Dorota, I told you no more interruptions! I need to go to sleep so that I am well rested for tomor-" She paused when she opened the door and realized Dorota was not the one standing on the other side of it, "-row. Chuck, what are you doing here?"_

"_Hello to you too, Lover," He said, pushing past her and into the room._

_Blair shut the door and turned to him with her hands on her hips, "You can't be here."_

_Chuck ran his fingers absentmindedly over the top edge of her vanity, "I'll admit, it was quite touching how we said our 'last good-byes' at the rehearsal dinner this evening and I have even indulged you in your desire to remain apart for these last two weeks, but did you really believe that I wouldn't be with you tonight?"_

"_Tomorrow is our wedding," Blair tried to reason with him, "The groom isn't supposed to-"_

"_I don't care about tradition," Chuck interrupted, "And do you really think I don't know why you chose this date?" Chuck asked as he approached her, "Five years ago I couldn't say those three important words and it meant I couldn't be with you. But now I have, over and over, and tomorrow I will proclaim it in front of everyone who is anyone in this city, so if history is correct, that means I get to be here with you."_

_He tried to place his hands on her hips, but Blair slapped them away, "It means you get to be with me _tomorrow_, after you do the proclaiming."_

_Chuck's jaw clenched, "I love you, Waldorf, despite your inane attempts to uphold some foolish, outdated tradition. I am sick of spending my nights alone. We're getting married because I see no value in bachelorhood when I have you and I want to spend every moment possible with you."_

_Blair had let him approach and place his hands on her, her resistance fading. She sighed, "But it is bad luck…"_

_Chuck smirked, "Blair, we both know you are going to go through the ceremony tomorrow if it kills you because you wouldn't want to suffer the public embarrassment, and I am not going anywhere and once you sign those papers I'm not letting you go anywhere either. Luck is no longer a factor. Tomorrow you are becoming a Bass and we are going to further cement the fact that you and I love each other and are going to be a fighting force in this city for the rest of our lives. Nothing is going to change that."_

_Blair got a slight smile and she finally gave in, allowing herself to melt into his embrace, "Okay, you can stay," Because if she was being honest with herself, she hadn't slept well without him and she had missed him too._

…

After Emily, Allison, and the other bridesmaids left, Anne was finally alone in her apartment. She had changed into her night gown and was about to go off to sleep when there was a knock at her door. She sighed. It had been a long day, a long week actually, and she really needed her rest for the next day. And once she looked through the peep hole and saw who was on the other side, she really didn't want to open the door. But she knew he wouldn't leave, so she pulled her robe tighter around her and turned the knob, "Bass, what are you doing here?"

Theo was leaning against the door way and he looked up at her with a lazy grin, "Can't I just come over to pass along my well-wishes to an old, dear friend?"

He passed by her into the apartment without waiting for an invitation and she closed the door behind him and crossed her arms over her chest, "Why are you really here?"

His smile faded, but he didn't answer, instead choosing to walk over to the kitchen area to pour himself a drink. Anne waited rather patiently until he took a sip of his drink and still didn't answer her question, "Theo," She demanded his attention, "You can't just barge into my apartment the night before my wedding and not tell me why-"

"Why are you doing this?"

Anne was stunned into silence and Theo placed his drink on the counter and stalked over to her, "You've gone through the whole engagement ruse before. This is the time you choose to go through with it?"

Anne stood up straighter and tossed her hair haughtily, "I love him."

Theo shook his head, "No, that's not it."

Anne's eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?"

Theo moved closer to her, "You forget how well I know you, Archibald. You're getting married because you think you're supposed to. It's about that time for your first marriage and you want to make your mother and grandmother happy."

"No," Anne protested as she backed up against the wall, "You have no idea what you are talking about. I love him."

Theo's smirk returned, "Maybe, on some level. But you and I both know that this isn't permanent. The poor sap probably even knows that this marriage isn't going to last."

"How dare you!" Anne frowned angrily.

She tried to push him away, but he just took a hold of her wrists and held her hands in place on his chest, "You chose him because you knew it wouldn't last. You're scared of commitment; of the thought of 'forever,' you always have been. You're not running away right now because you know that this union will end, whether it's in a few weeks, or months, or even a year, and you will be able to leave and move on to something else, just like you always do."

"Just because I never wanted to commit to you doesn't mean I am scared of all commitment."

Theo's jaw clenched in anger; not because he believed her, but because she still refused to stop lying to herself, "Really? How long have you been with this guy? Five months? That would be your longest relationship yet, wouldn't it? You have always been one to send them packing pretty quickly. You're such a man-eater. It's something I've always admired about you."

"You don't know me at all," Anne tried to sound confident, but there was a slight falter in her voice, which encouraged Theo to lean forward and place his hands on her waist.

"I scare you, because you know I won't go anywhere, no matter how hard you push me away." He whispered into her ear confidently, "I'll stay with you forever and it scares the shit out of you. I love you, and I always will, and if you really wanted that 'til death do us part' it would be me waiting for you in that church tomorrow and not him."

He leaned back to study her reaction, but he barely got a chance before she crashed her lips to his. He was never more glad that she was only clothed in a flimsy nightgown then he was in that moment as he slipped it down and took her there against the wall. And on her couch. And in her bed. This was the precise reason he had come over tonight; to show her why they were forever.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Hi everyone! I know the updates haven't been too regular, but I hope you are all still out there reading!

In the reviews someone asked how old everyone was at this point, so here it is, roughly: CJ-27, Hank-26, Ed&Theo-23 (Just finished first year of law school), Fitz-19 (1 year out of high school), Ricky-18 (Just graduated), Lexie-11/12. Oh, and Tristan is about 4.

…

It was the day of Anne's wedding and Allison was hiding out in the hallway, trying to avoid her mother, who had turned out to be more of a bridezilla than the bride herself. The ceremony was due to start soon, and Allison knew that if she didn't get back soon someone would notice she was missing, but just as she began to make her way over to her sister's dressing room she was stopped by a hand running gently touching her back.

She gasped and spun around.

"You know, I always thought that it was a rule that you aren't supposed to look better than the bride on her wedding day," Ricky said, looking her up and down appreciatively, "But there is no way Anne could ever compare to you."

Allison crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, "What do you want, Ricky?"

"I can't just pay you a compliment?"

Allison remained firm and raised a brow. Finally, Ricky sighed and took a step back, "How is your sister doing this morning? Having any second thoughts?"

Allison looked confused, "No, she's fine. Why wouldn't she be?"

"She didn't tell you? Last night she had a little encounter with my brother. An encounter I'm sure her husband-to-be would not approve of."

Allison's mouth dropped open, "No." She gasped in disbelief.

Ricky tilted his head, "You really find this hard to believe? Everyone knows there has always been something between Theo and your sister. He was the reason she broke off her last engagement. I'm just surprised it took him so long to act this time."

"But he failed," Anne said slowly, "I haven't seen any signs of her hesitating today. She is going to go through with this, despite what she might feel for Theo."

Ricky nodded grimly, "I know. And Theo probably isn't taking it so well, which is why he hasn't showed up today."

Allison opened her mouth to reply but paused when she saw Emily emerging from Anne's room, "I have to go," She said, "The ceremony is going to start soon."

Ricky nodded once more, "And I should get to my seat." But before he left he placed his hand gently on her arm, "You really do look stunning, Ally. Your boyfriend is one lucky bastard."

Allison smiled softly, "Thanks, Bass." She said before rushing away.

Emily had been trying to straighten out Tristan's tie as she reminded him how he was supposed to hold the ring pillow, "This is a very important job, Tristan. Aunt Anne is relying on you to be on your best behavior."

"I can do it, Mom." Tristan said confidently with a nod of his head.

Emily smiled and looked up just as Allison approached, "There you are, Ally. Jenny has been looking for you."

Allison rolled her eyes, "I know. Why do you think I disappeared?" She quickly sobered up, "How is Anne?"

"Fine. Why wouldn't she be?" Emily asked with what seemed to be genuine confusion.

Allison wasn't sure how to explain, "Well, I was talking to Ricky…"

Understanding washed over Emily's face, "And he told you what happened last night with Theo."

"You know?"

Emily nodded, "I was with Ed when Theo called him this morning after she kicked him out."

"So Anne didn't tell you?"

She shook her head, "She hasn't said a word."

"Do you think she is making a mistake?"

"I don't know," Emily shrugged, "I've tried to drop subtle hints, but she just seems to brush them off. I think she just wants to ignore what happened so she doesn't have to deal with it. The relationship she has with Theo has always scared her a bit. She's afraid to even let herself think about being with him, so going forward with the wedding is easier. At this point I don't know what else to do but just support her."

"So we're just going to let her go through with this, despite what we know happened last night? Even if it is a mistake?"

"I don't think we really have a choice. She won't listen to us anyway."

…

Ricky slid into the bench with his family just before the ceremony began.

"Where were you?" Blair leaned over and hissed, "And _where_ is your brother?"

She had been watching for Theo to arrive, and she was getting worried. She knew today would be rough for him and she wanted to make sure he was okay.

Ed, who was next to Ricky, turned towards her, "Are you really surprised he didn't want to be here right now?"

Blair's face grew concerned and she quickly glanced at Chuck, "Do you think he is alright?"

"He is fine," Ed said calmly, "I talked to him this morning. He just decided to nurse his wounds away from the person who caused them."

"Maybe I'll call him," Blair said, taking out her phone just as the music started, "After the ceremony, of course." She amended, slipping the phone back into her purse.

…

At the reception after the vows were said, Ricky had kept his eye on Allison. He wanted to talk to her, but her boyfriend was always around, keeping her by his side with his hand on her back. The guy had always been possessive. Ever since Allison had started dating him, she rarely had time for her other friends and she had been avoiding Ricky like the plague. Yes, they had hooked up in the past, but even when she had dated other guys, they had still been best friends. Ricky couldn't help but blame the sudden changes in her on the boyfriend and his controlling ways.

When he disappeared to the bathroom, Ricky made his move. "Care to dance?" He asked, extending his hand to her.

Her eyes widened, "What are you doing, Ricky?"

"Trying to dance with my oldest, closest friend. Is there something wrong with that?"

"Yes!" Allison exclaimed, "I have a boyfriend."

"It's just a dance, Archibald; nothing more."

Allison reluctantly let him take her hand and pull her out onto the dance floor, glancing over her shoulder the whole time, watching for her boyfriend.

"Relax, we aren't doing anything scandalous," Ricky said, trying to catch her eye, "Why are you so scared of him?"

"I'm not scared," She said quickly, "I just don't want him to get jealous. He knows about our history."

"So that is why you never want to see me anymore? Because he is jealous? Although, I guess I can't blame him. We have more chemistry in friendship than he will ever have with you."

"Fredrick, stop." She warned.

"Why? Why are you with him? He is trying to change you. He _has_ changed you. You are so much better than him. _We_ were so much better."

"_We_ were never anything, Ricky; nothing more than simple fuck buddies."

Allison tried to move past him, but Ricky grabbed her arm, "You know that's not true." He pulled her close to him again, "Why are you just trying to brush me off? Why are you content to pass your time with that asshole? What are you so afraid of?"

Her eyes snapped to his and in that moment she thought of Anne and her feelings for Theo and how her fear of what they meant kept her from taking a chance. She didn't want to be like her sister.

Without another word, Allison took Ricky's hand and pulled him out of the banquet hall and into a nearby empty room.

"What-" Ricky tried to ask what she was doing, but Allison silenced him with her lips on his and Ricky wasn't about to protest further.

He pushed her up against the wall and her legs instantly wrapped around his waist. She fumbled with the zipper of his pants as he pushed the loose skirt of her dress up around her waist. Their coupling was quick and rough, but with an edge of sentimentality and sweetness that always seemed to be present when they were together like this. It didn't last long enough for either of them, but it was well worth it; satisfying what he had been craving for months and what she had been denying since she had begun seeing her boyfriend.

After, once their breathing had almost returned to normal, Allison gently pushed Ricky away and they both began to straighten out their appearance in silence.

"Look, Ally-" Ricky began as he buttoned up his jacket, but Allison held up her hand to stop him.

"Don't." She warned, "This was a mistake. Let's pretend it never happened."

Ricky's jaw clenched as he tried to hide his hurt at her easy dismissal, "It's not that easy."

"Please, Ricky, I can't do this," Her eyes were vulnerable for just a second before her steely mask came into place and the cold-hearted ice queen that Ricky hadn't seen since she started dating her boyfriend emerged, "It was a foolish moment of passion brought about by too much champagne. I told you that you and I would never be more and I meant it. Stop chasing after me; you are starting to look a bit desperate." She ran her hand over her hair once more and walked towards the door, "Now excuse me, I have to get back to my boyfriend."

…

After her rejection, Ricky went back to the reception only to see Allison and her boyfriend all lovey-dovey on the dance floor and he had to leave before he vomited or stormed out there and punched the guy straight in the mouth.

It wasn't long before he walked into a bar and found Theo sitting there with a glass of scotch in front of him (and the entire bottle nearby). He sat down next to him and signaled for the bartender to bring him a glass as well.

"So," Theo said glumly, "Did Archibald actually go through with it?"

"Yup," Ricky said before taking a sip of the scotch the bartender had set before him, "Without a bit of hesitation."

"Fuck her," Theo said, before pausing and chuckling darkly "Oh wait, I already did last night."

"I completely understand your pain, my brother," Ricky said, "I screwed Ally in a back room at the reception only to watch her go running back into the arms of her wonderful and loving boyfriend."

Theo snorted, "Seems like you are finally starting to see the curse of loving an Archibald woman." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a few small tablets. He offered one to Ricky and kept the other for himself. He then lifted up his glass, "To the Archibalds. And to trying to forget how sweet it is to be buried inside of them."

The boys toasted, popped their pills and downed their drinks. It was only the start of a night that would be spent trying to dull their senses and forget the pain of the day.


	20. Chapter 20

The next morning, Chuck and Blair were sitting together at the breakfast table. She was sipping her orange juice and he was reading the business section of the paper. One of his hands was on her thigh, slowly creeping higher and higher until Blair cleared her throat, "Don't you think that is a little inappropriate?" She asked without so much as glancing at him, "Sebastian and Alexandria will be down to join us any minute."

"Don't you think our children have been exposed to enough debauchery so as not to even notice such gestures?" He said from behind his paper without removing his hand.

"Don't you think we have reached the age where such gestures should be kept private?"

She raised a brow as he peered around his paper to gauge her seriousness. He could see the teasing glint in her eye and he returned it, simply shaking his head once as he told her, "Never."

Soon after, Fitz joined them at the table. He kissed Blair on the cheek and took his seat, "Good morning, Mom; Dad."

"Good morning, Sebastian," Blair said, "Did you have a good time last night?"

He nodded, "I did. Even though I was still jet-lagged, it was great to see everyone."

Blair smiled, "Good, I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. And once you are rested I can't wait to hear all of the details about your travels!"

Fitz paused and set his fork down, "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about that…"

Blair perked up, "Oh?" She asked, glancing over at Chuck, who had put down his paper, and then back at her son.

"Yeah, I, uh-," Fitz hesitated and rubbed the back of his neck before continuing more strongly, "I know I told you last summer that I wanted to take a year off before attending Princeton, but now that the year is up I don't think New Jersey is the place for me."

"Well there are plenty of other schools," Blair said, "Even one here in the city. I'm sure any of them would _love_ to have a Bass join their student body."

Fitz shook his head, "No Mom, what I meant is I don't think college is the place for me. I know what I want to do and it doesn't involved school. I want to be a photographer. I want to capture people and moments around the world."

Blair opened and closed her mouth a few times, unsure of what to say, until Chuck took her hand and answered for her, "That's great, Son. We know photography has always been something you have enjoyed."

"I know it won't make me a lot of money," Fitz continued, "But I'm sure I'll do some extra fashion jobs along the way. I'm already booked to shoot your fall collection, Mom, and next week I'm doing a spread of Jenny Humphrey's for Elle Magazine."

Blair shook her head, getting over her initial shock and acting like the supportive mother she was, "Sweetie, your trust fund is more than large enough to support you for the rest of your life. You don't need to take jobs simply for the sake of making money."

Fitz shrugged, "Fashion can be fun sometimes. I wouldn't want to make a career out of it, but the photo shoots can be interesting once and a while. I don't mind doing it for you or other friends who ask as a favor."

"Jenny Humphrey is _not_ a friend," Blair huffed under her breath.

Fitz rolled his eyes, "She's married to Uncle Nate. As much as you may hate it, that makes her practically family."

Chuck, who had become distracted by his phone, abruptly stood up, "I would love to talk with you about this further, Sebastian, but I have some business to attend to."

"Business? On a Sunday?" Blair asked, looking at him with confusion as he rose from his seat.

"I won't be gone long," He said, leaning down to kiss her cheek, "And we will continue this discussion when I get back."

Fitz's brow furrowed as he watched his father leave and he quickly pulled out his phone.

…

CJ walked into the kitchen to find Hank making some coffee and Ed mixing together a strange looking concoction that inevitably was some sort of hangover cure. They were all in the penthouse suite of a Bass-owned hotel that they had managed to drag Theo and Ricky to after they found them the night before.

Both Theo and Ricky had obviously ingested a combination of different drugs and alcohol and the rest of the boys thought it would be best to have them sleep it off without their parents finding out. So CJ, Hank, and Ed had stayed with them while Fitz kept an eye on Chuck and Blair from their penthouse.

"Fitz just sent me a text," CJ said as he took a seat at the bar, "Dad left to do 'business.' He seemed a bit shady."

"Dad is always a bit shady about business," Hank said

"True," CJ agreed, "But Fitz just thought we should keep an eye out."

The boys continued to prepare for the moment when their brothers inevitably woke up with a massive hangover, until they were interrupted by a knock at the door.

The three of them looked at each other until CJ voiced what they all were thinking, "Who could that be?" He used a towel to wipe off his hands and walked over towards the door. But before he got very far, their father came strutting in.

"Good morning boys," He said casually taking a look around, "How are you all doing this morning?"

"Dad," CJ said in surprise, "What are you doing here?'

Chuck took a seat on the couch and made himself comfortable, "I own this hotel. The real question is, with all your lovely wives waiting at home, what are _you_ all doing here?"

CJ cleared his throat awkwardly, "After the wedding yesterday, we all decided to have a boys night. It's so rare that we are all together in the city like this."

"That's wonderful," Chuck said, "And I'm sure Theodore and Fredrick appreciated it after the way their night started. Where are they, by the way?"

CJ glanced over at Hank and Ed before stuffing his hands in his pockets, "They went a bit crazier than the rest of us, so they're still sleeping it off."

"Well would you mind waking them?" Chuck asked, "I'd love to speak with them."

"Dad-"

Chuck's eyes snapped to his son's, "You may have taken over as CEO, but many of the employees in this company still remain loyal to me. Let's stop pretending like I don't know exactly what happened last night."

CJ dropped his gaze to the floor and nodded his head like a remorseful child, "I'll go get them."

Hank disappeared into the bedrooms with CJ and a few minutes later they came back out, half dragging Theo and Ricky, who were both barely awake and more than a bit grumpy. But when they saw Chuck sitting in front of them, they stop their bitching and tried to straighten themselves out.

"Theodore, Fredrick," Chuck greeted them with a nodded before gesturing towards the sofa across from him, "Why don't you have a seat."

"Look Dad," Ricky began once they were seated, "I don't know what you heard about last night, but we-"  
"I understand," Chuck told them. "I know what you are going through and I understand that it is hard-"

"No you don't," Theo interrupted bitterly; "You have no fucking clue what I'm going through. You may have experienced a couple bumps and break-ups with Mom on your way to wedded bliss, but you never had to watch her walk down the aisle into the arms of another man."

"You're right," Chuck conceded, "I haven't. But I do know what it is like to watch the woman you love be seemingly happy with someone else. I know what it is like to give your entire heart to her only to have her act like someone else deserves her more. I know what it is like to feel like you've lost her for good."

"And then you fought back for her. You didn't give up," Ricky said with a roll of his eyes, "We know. We've heard the story a million times. But everyone doesn't get the same fairytale ending you got. Some of us just get screwed."

"So you're giving up?" Chuck asked, "One little rejection and you're going to give up?" He shook his head, "Sometimes you boys are too much like me for your own good."

"What else am I supposed to do?" Ricky asked, "Allison refuses to even consider the possibility of the two of us ever being anything more than friends with the occasional benefits."

"And Anne is married," Theo piped in, still completely bitter, "What the fuck am I supposed to do to change that?"

Chuck sighed and leaned forward, "If you really love her like you say you do then you should want her to be happy, more than anything else."

"So I should just sit back and let her stay in this sham marriage?" Theo sneered.

"If you think she really loves him, then yes. But if you know her as well as you claim too, and you know that she doesn't really care for this guy; that this marriage is really 'a sham' like you claim, then don't stop. Because if she really loves you, even if she is scared to admit it, even to herself, then she will never really be happy with him and you need to keep fighting. You can't let her live in denial. No one wins in that situation." Chuck turned his gaze to Ricky, "The same goes for you. If you think there is some underlying reason why she is leaning on this boyfriend of hers and avoiding you, then don't let up. Don't back down. Make her talk to you."

Chuck stood up and buttoned his suit jacket in order to leave. He was almost at the door when he stopped and turned to face them once more, "There was one time," He said, nodding his head and looking down at his feet briefly, "One time when I tried to let your mother go, so she could live her dream and be happy. But it was the wrong thing to do. We still loved each other. She told me how she felt, and I still told her to go." He looked at both of his sons seriously, "I should have known that with a love like ours, even with all of its dark times, neither of us could ever really be happy with anyone else."

He didn't say anything else. He nodded his head once and took his leave of the apartment. He had done all he could do. Hopefully his sons would take his advice and avoid even more heartbreak.

…

A/N: Sorry it took so long. I had Chuck's speech worked out better in my head and then I forgot what I wanted him to say. So this is what I got. Not as good as the original, but still acceptable (hopefully?). Please review if you are still out there reading! I love to hear from you!


	21. Chapter 21

A/N: HI! I'm not dead, and neither is this story, don't worry. Thanks to all you lovelies who have been reviewing and messaging me to continue. You are much appreciated. Real life has been sort of crazy for me and to be honest, the show has kind of bummed me out. I feel the need to forewarn you that I have absolutely no inspiration to write Blair right now, so she probably won't be present too much for a little while (luckily she wasn't supposed to be anyway). I just can't with her character anymore.

Also, I'm sorry this is such short chapter, but I want to post something to thank you all who have been patiently waiting. Hopefully I'll be able to get back into it more. I do have the whole story mapped out in my head, I just need to commit to writing it all for you.

…

It was six months after Anne's wedding and one Bass boy seemed to be much closer to attaining his Archibald woman than the other.

Although Anne was still married, it was common knowledge that the union was struggling. The couple was rarely in the city at the same time and most people knew that even when they were both in town they never slept under the same roof.

Theo had yet to make a blatant move for Anne's heart, but he made sure his intentions and presence in her life were known. From the moment the couple returned from their honeymoon, Theo made sure he was at any event or function they attended. If Anne cared about him as little as she claimed, then his attendance should not have bothered her, but it was obvious to everyone present, including her husband, that it did.

And as long as his presence had an impact, Theo had no plans of giving up. It meant she still felt something, and eventually she would confront her feelings. He would make sure of that.

For Ricky, however, things weren't looking so hopeful.

Since Anne's wedding Ally had retreated even further away from him and from the person she used to be. She made sure that he almost never actually got to see her, but from what Ricky had heard, Ally didn't even go out anymore, at least not without her boyfriend. She had always been a social butterfly and one of the most well known girls in Manhattan, but now she didn't seem to have any friends outside of her boyfriend.

Ricky had tried contacting her multiple times, through phone calls, emails, and even by giving messages to her sister, but Ally refused to speak to him. He didn't understand it and something just didn't seem right to him.

Finally, he decided to go to his dad for help. Chuck had access to an unlimited amount of information through his multiple resources. If anyone could find out what was going on with Ally, it was Chuck.

He tentatively knocked on the partially open door to his father's office. The door opened wider at the contact and Chuck peered at him over the papers he was studying, "Can I help you, Fredrick?"

Ricky nodded his head and took a seat across from his dad, "I need you to look into Ally's boyfriend."

Chuck set the papers down and leaned back in his chair, "Did she give you reason to be suspicious? Or is this just because you don't get along with the boy? I know you don't care for him because you and Allison have started to drift apart, but sometimes that happens with old friends."

"No, Dad, it has nothing to do with that. He has changed her, and not in a good way. She doesn't go out; she doesn't talk to any of her friends. She used to be 'the next Serena Van Der Woodsen,' and now no one even mentions her."

"Maybe she has just grown out of that whole social scene."

Fredrick shook his head, "No, that's not it. Don't you remember what she was like before him? She used to be confident and powerful, and now she is just his little shadow. When you see her with him, it seems almost like she is cowering in fear."

Chuck didn't say anything, but Ricky could tell he was still hesitant to stir up trouble, so he continued, "If you want to excuse the change in her character as simple maturation, fine, but you can't ignore the sudden change in her career aspirations. You've known her family longer than I have. You know that just like her dad and her sister, she can barely stand to tolerate her mother. That one summer after junior year when she worked for her, she hated it, because Jenny wouldn't even consider any of her ideas or suggestions. And now suddenly she wants to go work for the business side of the Jenny Humphrey line after she graduates? It makes no sense. Her whole life Ally has wanted to be the next Anna Wintour. She wanted to go to FIT, get into fashion journalism, and start criticizing people like her mother and having her opinion matter. The fact that she switched her admission to NYU, the school that her boyfriend attends, to study business, something that does not interest her, does not add up. He is behind it, I know it," He paused and took a deep breath, "I know I don't have any proof, but that is why I need your help. Something is wrong with this guy, Dad. I can tell. She has been my best friend my entire life. This isn't her."

Chuck sighed and shook his head, "Son, even if I ask around I don't know-"

"Please, Dad," Ricky pleaded, "I just want my best friend back."

Chuck looked at his son and saw the fear and pain in his eyes. This wasn't jealousy. Ricky was genuinely concerned about this girl who he had always cared about; who, in fact, Chuck was sure he loved, even if he wouldn't admit it. "Okay," Chuck said with a single nod of his head, "I'll see what I can do."


End file.
